
;..'" 



^^ 




Glass F3^^ 
Book. 



OAKLAND 



^^ATHENS 
OF THE 

PACIFIC^' 



THE CITY or CHURCHES 
A***' THE CITY or SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES 
W THE CITY or ART AND SCIENCE 

[[_ THE CITY or WEALTH AND INDUSTRY 

THE Cn"Y OE HEALTH AND HOMES 

^ ALSO ^ 



racts and Tig u PCS of Alameda Couafv 



ITS CITES AND TOWNS FARMS AND FACTORIES 

RAILROAD AND SHIPPING INTERESTS PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, HARBORS 

CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTS, ETC., ETC. 



PUBLISHED UNDER THE dOIMT AUSPICES OF THE MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE AND BOARD OF 

TRADE OF THE CITY OF OAKLAND, GAL., BY AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD 

OF SUPERUISORS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



Copies of this book will be mailed free to prospective home seekers on application to Secretary of Merchants' Exchange or Board 
of Trade, Oakland, Cal. 

Copyrighted 1896 by G. W. Calderwood and G. T. Loofbourow. All Rig-hts Reserved. 

1897 




Q 

Z 

■c 

o 



o 

r 
1^ 



5 

tu 



lU 

>- 

LU 

h 



PREFACE. 



A "preface" from the publishers is unnecessarj^ The following is much better:- 



FROM EX-MAYOR WM. R. DAWIS. 



Davis & Hill, william lair hill. 

wm. r. davis. 
Attorneys at Lazc\ 

N. W^ Cor. Ninth and Broadway, 

Rooms 12, 13 and 14, 

Oakland, Cat. 

Oakland, Cal., June 17th, 1896. 
G. T. lyOOFBOUROW & Co. — 

Gentlemen: I have examined the proof-sheets of your book, "Facts and Figures" of Alameda County, 
and have no hesitancy in saying that in my opinion it promises to be the best and most accurate presentation 
of our resources and local attractive features, and as an advertising medium yet published in the interest of Al- 
ameda County. 

Very truly yours, 

Wm. R. Davis. 
"SO SAY WE ALL." 

W. V. WITCHER, President Merchants' Exchange. 
GEO. W. ARPER, Importer and Dealer in Oils. 
GEO. L. FISH (Ex-President Merchants' Exchange). 

JOHN A. BRITTON, Secretary and Manager Oakland Gas Light & Heat Company. 
THEO. GIER, Wholesale Wine Dealer and Vineyardist. 
J. H. MACDONALD, Real Estate, Ninth Street. 
A. H. BREED, Real Estate, 460 Ninth Street. 
MYRON T. HOLCOMB, Real Estate, Tenth and Broadway. 
W. J. SPENCER, Our Mothers' Milling Company, Second Street. 
HENRY P. DAETON, County Assessor. 

WILEIAM J. DINGEE, Real Estate and President Oakland Water Company. 
M. J. SCHARMAN, Importer Cigars and Tobacco, Twelfth and Broadway. 
And man}^ others. 



(Hi) 



SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. 



HKRE'is a book that will interest all persons concerned in the welfare of Oakland and Alameda County. 

It is not a "history " of Alameda County, neither is it a " directory " of the city of Oakland. 

It does not run in the beaten path of any other publication. 

The publishers received the most pronounced encouragement from the very start. 

When the high-grade character of our contributors was made public, subscriptions began to pour in from 
all sides. The people knew that something good was coming and thousands of copies were ordered before a 
single type had been set. 

As for ourselves we cut but a small figure in the matter. We came here as entire strangers to this peo- 
ple, and we are still strangers to most of them. We have tried to deserve the good opinion of all and to publish 
a book on correct lines. We believe that we have succeeded. 

Our book has cost us much hard work and several thousand dollars, but the money will all come back, 
for we expect to sell as many books as there are individuals in Alameda County — 125,000 at least. 

Our book is one that will not be thrown away nor dismissed with a glance. There is not a dull line in 
it, and every page tells of some important fact. 

We extend our thanks to ex-Mayor Wm. R. Davis for making us acquainted with men who had blood 
in them — the kind of blood that moves things along practical lines. We thank W. R. Ellis, editor of the Liv- 
ermore Herald, Prof. W. C. Jones, of the State University, Mrs. C. T. Mills, of Mills College, and C. C. 
Mclver, of Mission San Jose, for cuts loaned us with which to illustrate our book. 

We are under special obligations to W. J. Spencer, of "Our Mothers' Milling Company," for substantial 
favors shown us from time to time during the progress of our work. 

The President and Directors of the Merchants' Exchange are entitled to our thanks for the encouragement, 
and many courtesies shown us. 

We are more than thankful to the Oakland Enquirer for numerous kindly notices of our work during its 
preparation. 

To all our contributors and to each of our patrons we tender our thanks for their confidence in us and 
encouragement of our work. 

There are no advertisements nor paid locals in this book, — not one. Nor has any man paid us, or been 
asked to pay us, as much as a 5 cent piece for anything said of him or his business. 

If we have said what may seem to be "a good thing" for this or that person, you may rest assured 
that this or that person had been saying something good of us. 

We are human and feel and appreciate a kind word from whomsoever it may come. 

As a book for Eastern readers, for the homeseeker and investor, we are inclined to the opinion that 
"Facts and Figures" has no superior on the Pacific Coast. As an evidence of this fact several business 
men of Oakland have each subscribed for 100 copies of the book. One firm ordered 200 copies. A large 
number have ordered 50 copies each, while the names of those who have subscribed for 25 copies each would 
nearly fill a page in the book. 

We offer single copies of the book at $1.00. Special discount on 25 or more copies. Tubes for maiUng 
the book will be furnished free of charge. The postage on each copy of " Facts and Figures" will be 8 cents. 

G. T. LOOFBOUROW & CO., Publishers, 

Oakland, Cal. 

(iv) 



NDEX TO SUBJECTS 



Page 
Alameda County .9 

Situation, 
Area, 

Population , 
Topography, 
Valleys, 
Products, 

Shipping facilities. 
County roads, 
Fruit growing. 
Vegetable growing, 
Farming in general. 
Number of crops. 
Gathering crops, 
Price of land, 
Land values. 

Apricots 12 

Alameda County vs. the East i6 

A Bankers' Start 20 

A Pen Picture 21 

Alphabetical Pointers 24 

A Few Dont's 26 

Alameda County Apples 28 

Alameda County, Towns and Cities.... 37 

Alameda, 

Berkeley, 

Livermore, 

Haywards, 

San Leandro, 

San Lorenzo, 

Niles, 

Newark, 

Centerville, 

Pleasanton, 

Alvarado, 

Irvington , 

Mission San Jose, 

"Warm Springs, 

Decoto, 

Sunol. 

An Argument 88 

Alameda County Gold 81 

A Midwinter Ramble 84 

Board of Trade, The 96 

Big Farms 22 

Best's Big Business 31 

Beet Sugar Pulp 3;^ 

Beet Sugar 58 

Barley, "Chevalier" 85 

California Property and Taxation 98 

Cucumber Pickles 12 

Currants 12 

Cherries 13 

Cost of Living 41 

Climate and Air Movements of Ala- 
meda County 43 

Cork Trees 5° 

Climate, Different "8 

Currant and Berry Culture 59 

Elmhurst 93 



Page 

Fruit Growing 10 

Farming in General 11 

Farming in Alameda County 19 

Fish We Eat 32 

Flowers 40 

Fuel, Price of yi 

Fishing 51 

Fernwood 86 

Giants, California 33 

Greater Oakland 89 

How It Pays, No. i 11 

How It Pays, No. 2 12 

How It Pays, No. 3 12 

How It Pays, No. 4 14 

How It Pays, No. 5 14 

How It Pays, No. 6 14 

How It Pays, No. 7 15 

How It Pays, No. 8 15 

How It Pays, No. 9 15 

How It Pays, No. 10 16 

Horse Beans 12 

Hay 13 

Honey .. 60 

Hop Picking 68 

Health Statistics 85 

Inexhaustible Soil 29 

Irrigation 63 

Investment 91 

Lemons, Money in 29 

Livermore Valley 30 

Livermore Creamery 33 

Linda Vista 40 

Let There Be Light 64 

Minerals of Alameda County 23 

Manufacturing Industries 46 

Mushrooms 85 

Merchants' Exchange 94 

Number of Crops Grown 11 

No Answer 17 

Oakland Exposition, The 60 

Our Question Box 17 

Our Prolific Soil 27 

"Oakland" (poem) 34 

Oakland, California 35 

Ferry trains, 

Oakland harbors, 

Electric railroads, 

Resources, 

Wealth, 

Manufacturing, 

"Athens of the Pacific," 

Public schools. 

Societies, 

Climate. 

Onions, Huge Bed of 48 

Oakland Water Front 51 

Plan of improvement. 

Tidal canal. 

First appropriation. 



Pagb 

Present condition, 

Future operations, 

Small appropriations. 

Commercial progress. 
Oakland, Duty of Men of Wealth to... 55 

Oakland To-day and To-morrow 61 

Oakland, The New 66 

Oakland, Ten Years in 67 

Oakland Musically Considered.. 68 

Oakland, Distance from 72 

Oakland's Future 73 

Six grounds of forecast. 

Comparative growth, 

Oakland's increase. 

The Nicaragua Canal, 

One more railroad ? or two ? 

The only deep water inlet, 

Omaha and Oakland, 

End of the centurj'. 

Ourselves a factor. 

Oakland, Healthiest of Cities 79 

Outdoor Sports 8i 

Oakland Real Estate, the Rise in 

Value of S2 

Oakland Iron Works 93 

Oakland Preserving Company 93 

Peas 12 

Profits in Cucumbers 20 

Profits in Raspberries 2e 

Public Schools of Alameda County 49 

Rhubarb 12 

Roses in Winter 45 

Railroad Review 76 

Race Track 92 

Salt 27 

Some Questions Answered 87 

Sugar Making 31 

Strawberries 81 

The Deadly Parallel 19 

Twelve Tons of Cherries 21 

The Deadly Parallel 26 

The Warm Springs 28 

The Deadly Parallel 29 

The Deadly Parallel 31 

Transmission of Power 32 

Tomatoes Every Daj' 48 

Taxation, Rates of. 70 

The Future Highway 71 

Vegetable Growing 27 

Values, Comparative 69 

When Fruits Ripen 10 

Weather Bureau Service 40 

Winter Weather 48 

Wine Culture 62 

What Eastern Folks Can Not Do and 

We Can 85 

Weather and Work 85 

Worth Seeing , 94 

What For? 92 

What Is What? 90 

(v) 




c 
3 




'|J':14^ 




An Alameda County "Alameda." 



DEADLY PARALLEL. 



When the atmosphere is freezing cold in the east, the citizens 
of Alameda County are basking in the sunshine. When the citi- 
zens of the east are suffering from heat, the citizens of Oakland 
and Alameda County are having glorious weather. The San Fran- 
cisco Chronicle reports the hot weather in the east on August 9, 
1896, as follows; — 

"Fatal Heat in the East." 
'Over One Hundred Deaths Reported." 
'Fifty Victims in New York." 
'People I'rostrated in Many Cities." 

Then the paper goes on for a column and a half, detailing the 
suflfering east, north, middle west and south. Let us compare 
actual facts with them: — 
EAST. 
August 9, 1896. 

New York.— Sevent}' deaths 
from heat in this city to-daj-, 
fifty of them on Manhattan Is- 
land. Prostrations everywhere; 
intense suffering. One hundred 
horses dropped dead. 

Philadelphia. — E i g h t e e n 
deaths. Thirty prostrations in 
this city to-daj-. Thermometer 
96.6 at 4 p. M. 

Boston. — Seventy degrees at 
daylight; 92 at 2 p. m. The 
most uncomfortable day we've 
ever had. 

Washington City, D. C — 
Thermometer97^. Airstifling. 
Great suffering. 

Pittsburg, Pa. — Hottest day of 
the summer — 96. Many cases 
of sunstroke. Three deaths. 

Cleveland, O.— Fifty militia- 
men prostrated by the heat. At 
7 .4.. M. mercury stood at 80; at 
7 p. M. at 98. 

Cincinnati, O. — Temperature 



OAKLAND. 

August 9, 1896, Temperature 65. 

Look 

through 

the 

pages 

of 

this 

book, 

and 

you 

will 

notice 

that 

it 

is 

never 

hot 

nor 

never 

cold 



has been in the nineties for over 
a week. Many cases of sun- 
stroke reported, and several 
deaths have occurred from heat. 

WEST. 

St. Louis. — Worst we have 
ever known it. One hundred 
and ten prostrations; nineteen 
deaths. Thermometer 100 in 
the shade to-da\-. 

Kansas City.— Sweltering hot 
weather here and all around us. 
Thermometer for a week has 
ranged from 97 to 103 degrees. 

Omaha, Neb.. — Thermometer 
has played on both sides of the 
100 mark for a week. The hu- 
midity has been something 
awful. 

Milwaukee. — Five days of the 
hottest weather known here 
since 1872. During the past 
week the death-rate has more 
than doubled. 

SOUTH. 

San Antonio, Tex. — Numer- 
ous cases of sunstroke. Business 
at a standstill. 

Little Rock, .'Vrk. — Mercury 
has stood at 100 mark for ten 
days. Crops all parched. 
Twelve to fifteen prostrations 
have occurred. 

Louisville, Ky. — Terrible 
mortality among horses. Many 
dropped dead in the streets. 

Baltimore, Md. — Heat almost 
unbearable. Thirty prostrations 
and nineteen deaths. 



in 
Alameda 

County. 

The 

mercury 

very 

seldom 

gets 

below 

55. 
or 

above 
70. 

No 

spot 

on 

earth 

is 

favored 

with 

finer 

summer 

vv-eather, 

or 

more 

glorious 

winter 

weather, 

than 

Alameda 

County, 

California. 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



Alameda County is situated in the western part of hood of 125,000. Four-fifths of the citizens reside in the 

Central California. It is bounded on the west by the Bay cities and towns of the county, 

of San Francisco, on the north by Contra Costa County, on topography. 

the east by San Joaquin County, and on the south by Santa The Contra Costa range of mountains is located on the 

Clara County. eastern side of the county, and extends from north to south 




Orange Qrave. 



AREA. 



The county contains 737 square miles of territory, or 
about 513,000 acres. It has a water front extending along 
its western shore a distance of 40 miles. There are about 
8,000 acres of unentered government land in the county. 

POPULATION. 

The population of Alameda County is in the neighbor- 



the whole length of the county. Within these mountains 
are several of the most productive valleys of the world. 

THE ALAMEDA VALLEY. 

From the foot-hills of these mountains, westward to the 
waters of the Pacific Ocean, which come into the Bay ot 
San Francisco through the majestic Golden Gate, lies the 
famous Alameda Valley, the most productive garden spot 
on the face of the earth. 

(9) 



10 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY. 

Everything that is "growable" grows in this valley, and 
yields more to the acre, perhaps, than any other valley in 
California. This is saying a great deal, but facts warrant 
the statement. 

■, SHIPPING FACILITIES. 

With 40 miles of water front, and 200 miles of steam and 
electric railways, the farmer, fruit grower, and produc3r 
will have no trouble in getting their crops to market. 



^w.*:— '■ 




Four-Vear-Old Orange Tree. 



COUNTY ROADS. 



Nowhere west of the Rocky Mountains can better county 
roads be found than in Alameda County. During the sum- 
mer season these roads are sprinkled, and the dust is kept 
down to a large extent. 

FRUIT GROWING. 

Here is where fruit raising first began in California. 
Here is where the best fruits are grown. Here is where 
the nursery stock is sprouted for many of the great orchards 
of California. Here is the home of the sugar beet, and the 



first sugar beet factory in California. Here it is that the 
best cherries — the best cherries in the world — -are raised in 
the largest quantities. All other counties in California are 
pigmies compared to Alameda County in the production of 
high-grade cherries. Here are grown the largest and sweet- 
est currants. Here is the home of the fig- and the oranee, 
the olive and the grape, the lemon and the lime, the prune 
and the plum, the apricot and the peach, the strawberry, 
raspberry, blackberry, and gooseberry, the apple, pear, and 
loquat, the nectarines, the guavas, and pome- 
I granates, the persimmons and the quinces. 

WHEN FRUITS RIPEN. 

ALL FRUITS BEAR IN SOME TIME OF THE VEAR, AND SOME BEAR 
ALL THE VEAR. 

During the twelvemonth, orcnards and vine- 
yards may be depended upon to yield as follows, 
with small changes as to altitude and location. 

January — Oranges, lemons, strawberries, and, 
occasionally, apples, peaches, guavas, and rasp- 
berries. 

Februaiy — Oranges, lemons, guavas, and 
stra\\berries. 

March — Oranges, lemons, limes, guavas, and 
strawberries. 

April — Loquats, oranges, lemons, limes, gua- 
vas, and strawberries. 

May — Currants, loquats, oranges, lemons, 
limes, gnavas, strawberries, and, occasionally, 
cherries, apricots, and peaches. 

June • — Cherries, plums, apricots, prunes, 
peaches, currants, loquats, oranges, lemons, 
guavas, strawberries, raspberries, and grapes. 

July — Figs, apples, grapes, cherries, necta- 
rines, plums, prunes, apricots, peaches, currants, 
loquats, oranges, lemons, guavas, strawberries, 
blackberries, and raspberries. 

August — Pomegranates, figs, grapes, quinces, 
apples, cherries, plums, prunes, apricots, peaches, 
oranges, nectarines, lemons, guavas, straw- 
berries, blackberries, and raspberries. 

September — Pomegranates, quinces, figs, 
nectarines, grapes, apricots, apples, plums, 
prunes, peaches, lemons, guavas, strawberries, 
blackberries, gooseberries, and raspberries. 
October — Pomegranates, figs, quinces, grapes, 
apples, plums, prunes, peaches, lemons, guavas, straw- 
berries, and raspberries. 

November — Persimmons, pomegranates, quinces, grapes, 
apples, figs, plums, prunes, peaches, oranges, lemons, guavas, 
strawberries, and raspberries. 

December — Persimmons, quinces, pomegranates, grapes, 
apples, figs, peaches, oranges, lemons, guavas, strawberries, 
and raspberries. 

This unimpeachable list demonstrates at once the great 
variety of fruits produced here, as well as the lengthy season 
during which they may be gathered fresh from tree and vine. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



II 



It tells the tale of the wonderful horticultural wealth of Ala- 
meda County, in the most convincing terms. 

VEGETABLES. 

Acres and acres and acres of ^'egetables are grown in this 
county. From north to south through the entire county 
is one vast field of vegetables. Many of the stockholders 
in the banks of the county made their money out of vege- 
tables. San Francisco's vegetable markets are supplied 
from the products of Alameda County. 

FARMING IN GENERAL. 



HOW IT P.\YS. 



No. I. 



George Smith owns 7 acres of land at San Leandro, in 
Eden Township. Two acres of this land is used for his home 
and domestic garden. Five acres are planted in vines and 
trees — 3 acres of which are cherry trees. He has 300 of 
these, and they are planted 24 feet apart. He crops 4 tons 
to the acre, or 1 2 tons in all. These cherries year in and 



While a farmer can do much better here than 
in the east, many of the best farmers of the county 
are turning their grain fields into orchards or 
vegetable gardens. A man who would be sat- 
isfied with $10 profit on each acre in the east, 
would find himself dissatisfied here with any- 
thing less than from $50 to $300 profit on each 
acre of land. 

PRICE OF LAND. 

Land costs twice as much here as it does in 
the east. But the price has to be paid but once 
and once only. The productive quality of the 
land in this county is from two to fourfold greater 
than the cheaper lands of the east. The good 
quality of this land is perpetual. 

LAND VALUES. 

These are not always gauged by the proxim- 
ity of land to cities and towns, nor wholly be- 
cause of the richness of the soil. What makes 
land worth as much as anything else in this 
county is the fact that it is always tillable. It 
can be plowed, hoed, or planted at any season of 
the year. In fact, there is no such thing as 
"plowing season" known in Alameda County. 

GATHERING CROPS. 

A landowner in this county may keep himsell 
busy every day in the year gathering fruit or 
vegetables. He need not store a pound or 
bushel of anything, for the markets are near, 
the roads good, and the weather always "peraiit- 
ting." 

TWO CROPS. 



In addition to gathering crops every month in the year, 
two crops are frequently gathered off of the same tree, bush, 
vine, or piece of land. If a man owns a lemon orchard, he 
never gets through picking the trees; for a lemon tree does 
not know what it is to quit producing. 

In Livermore Valley the finest quality of hay is raised, 
which brings a higher price than any other hay sold in the 
markets of California. 

It matters not what a man wishes to raise, he will find, 
as above stated, that anything "growable" will grow in 
Alameda County. 




5ix-Year-0ld Orange Tree. 

year out average him $100 per ton. His cherries are the 
Black Tartarian and Royal Ann variety, and mature in 
May, and are cropped until July. Mr. Smith has j<( acre 
planted in rhubarb, which yields 3,000 pounds. This is sold 
in boxes of 30 pounds, at $1.00 each, making $100 for the 
crop, or at the rate of $400 per acre. Mr. Smith clears 
$1,600 a year over and above all expenses, and has the 
satisfaction of owning a good bank account, besides being 
one of the stockholders in the Central Bank, the largest 
one in Oakland. All of which comes from owning 7 acres 
of land in Alamed" County. 



13 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



HOW IT PAYS. 
No. 2. 

Mr. Smith's ranch, referred to above, shows what can be 
raised in this county on a small scale, and in this article we 
propose to show what can be raised on a large scale. 

The Meek estate (H. W. Meek, manager), near Hay- 
wards, consists of 1,000 acres of land, nearly all of which 
is in fruit trees. The following is a partial list of fruits raised 
there: Apples, crabapples, pears, cherries, plums, prunes, 
peaches, apricots, necta- 
rines, quinces, figs, al- 
monds, chestnuts, pe- 
cans, walnuts, oranges, 
lemons, persimmons, 
pomegranates, loquats, 
mulberries, olives, 
grapes, currants, goose- 
berries, blackberries, 
strawberries, raspberries. 

VEGETABLES. 

In addition to the fruit 
product above named, 
Mr. Meek lias 250 acres 
of tomatoes, 150 acres 
of peas, and 150 acres 
of cucumbers for pickles. 

The tomatoes yield 
18,000 pounds to the 
acre. The cucumbers 
average about 15,000 
pounds, while the peas 
average 3 tons to the 
acre, and are worth $30 
per ton. 

HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 3. 

Antone S. Vager re- 
sides at San Leandro. 
For several years after 
his arrival in this county 
he worked for monthly 
wages, and nine years 
ago he began business 
for himself. He com- 
menced on a small scale and increased his business from 
year to year, so that he is now one of the most independent 
men in San Leandro. His several crops for 1896 are as 
follows: — 

Tomatoes, 200 acres, 18,000 pounds to the acre. Total 
number of pounds, 3, 600, 000. Selling price per ton, $7 . 50. 

He has contracted to sell 60,000 boxes of tomatoes, 60 
pounds each, at 20 cents per box, for which he will receive, 
all told, $12,000, or at the rate of $60 per acre. ' 



Horse Bea7is.^M.r. Vager raises a great many Jiorse 
beans, which he sells at $1. 15 per 100 pounds, or at the rate 
of $45 per acre. These beans are used in making coffee to 
some extent, but their principal value is in their nutrition as 
a feed for stock. Horse beans are always a more profitable 
crop than barley. 

Cucumber Pickles. — Early in the season these bring $1.60 
per hundred pounds, but they drop down to 60 cents per 
hundred pounds before the season closes. 

Mr. Vager has only 4 acres for the market this year, but 

he has contracted his 
entire crop at the above 
figures. His usual plant- 
ing is from 30 to 40 
acres, from which he 
gathers, on an average, 
9,000 pounds per acre, 
and sells them so as to 
realize about $100 an 
acre for his trouble. 
Cucumber land is worth 
$300 per acre. Every 
acre pays for itself the 
third season. 

Peas. — This year Mr. 
: Vager' s pea crop will 
yield 180 tons, at $30 
per ton, or at an average 
of $90 per acre. This 
land is worth $300 per 
acre. 

Apricots. — Mr. Vager 
claims that apricots are 
the most profitable fruit 
on his place. His crop 
this year will nm near 
900 tons, 12 tons to the 
acre, and the price will 
range from $20 to $30 
per ton. 

Currants. — These he 
plants between the apri- 
cot trees, and crops 
about 13 chests to the 
acre. These chests con- 
tain 1 20 pounds of cur- 
rants each, and they are sold all the way from $1.50 to $12 
a chest, according to the ' 'season." At an average of $6.00 
a chest each acre of currants fetches $90. Add these to 
the $300 per acre he gets for his apricots, and it is easy to 
see why Mr. Vager declares apricots to be the most profit- 
able of any fruit he handles. 

Rhubarb. —"This is also planted between the trees," says 
Mr. Vager, "and I have 6 acres of it this year; I expect 
to gather 1,400 boxes to the acre. These boxes will hold 




Olive Tree, 10 Years Old. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



13 



30 pounds each, and as I will get on an average go cents per 
box, the 6 acres will fetch $1,260, or $210 per acre." Land 
like this costs $300 per acre, and is worth every cent of it. 

Cherries. — Mr. Vager is a prolific producer of cherries. 
His principal brands in this line are the Royal Ann and the 
Black Tartarian. Some of his trees bear from 300 to 500 
pounds, and others have yielded 800 pounds to the tree. 
He has 108 trees to the acre, planted 20 feet apart, so it can 
easily be figured out how he makes a small fortune out of 
cherries alone. Every pound of his fruit is contracted for 
year ahead. 

Hay. — He has 60 acres in hay, that crops 3 tons to the 



He also has a number of peach, plum, pear, and apple 
trees, from which he cleared $6,000 in one year. How is 
this for ID acres of land ? 

Raising Currants. — Mr. Rodgers has an eye to business. 
As his trees were planted 20 feet apart, he utilized the inter- 
vening space by planting 4 rows of currant bushes. For 
a period of 5 years these bushes have been producing 
nearly 1,000,000 pounds of currants each year. 

Yearly Contracts. — Mr. Rodgers never has to look for a 
market for his fruits. The market comes to him twelve 
months before he picks a single pound. In other words, as 
soon as he has sold this year's crop, he is offered so much 



^.4 K^J 








i,}k%..-^i\^i:: -. y ,.■... -■■•■.4. ^ -•^■^^S».^>^ 







Almond Orchard in Bloom. 



acre. During the busy season he gives employment to 145 
persons. What Mr. Vager has accomplished can be dupli- 
cated by any energetic man. 

HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 4. 

Antone A. Rodgers has a record for fruit raising that is 
surprisingly good. He located near San Leandro in i860. 
He bought 10 acres of land at $200 per acre. In five years 
his young apricot trees were bearing 50 pounds each, and 
they have increased their yield yearly e\'er since. After 
22 years of bearing these trees now produce on an average 
of 500 pounds each per year. 



per pound for next year's crop. It is so with every other 
fruit grower in the county. Alia man has to do in order to 
get rich at fruit growing is to establish a reputation for rais- 
ing the best qualities of fruit, and picking it in due season, 
and properly packing it for the market. 

Rhubarb. — Mr. Rodgers, above referred to, planted rhu- 
barb here and there on 6 acres of his land, and his clear 
up this year on the 6 acres is about $1,300. Mr. Rodgers 
is a stockholder in one of the Oakland banks. His 10 acres 
ha\-e grown to 62 acres. What cost him $200 an acre is 
now worth $1,000 per acre. Ten acres in fruit trees in 
Alameda County is a fortune for any man. What Mr. 
Rodgers has accomplished is just what any energetic man 
may do. 



14 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



HOVS' IT PAYS. 

No. 5- 
J. H. Begier, of San Leandro, in conversation with the 
compilers of this book, said: "I have been raising fruit 
about ten years. I have 1,000 apricot trees on 10 acres of 
land. I have altogether 200 acres under my control, most 
of which I have leased. I contract nearly all of my fruit a 
year in ad\ance. It always pays to do this. A man knows 
then just where he is coming out. Nearly all of my fruit 
goes to eastern markets, and gets there about thirty days in 
advance of any other fruits from California or elsewhere." 



and will average 50 pounds each ; the sixth and seventh years, 
about 100 pounds each; the tenth year, about 200 pounds 
each, and from that up to 300, 400, and 500 pounds. A 
great deal of money is made in small fruit and vegetables 
that are planted between the trees. 

"Land can be had for $200 to $400 an acre in this town- 
ship, and if planted in cherries and apricots, will double in 
value in five years and increase every year after. Five acres 
is enough for any man unless he wishes to ship on a large 
scale. So far as living expenses are concerned, vegetables 
enough can be raised for domestic use and enough sold to 




On the Lawn, Linda Vista. 



Cherries. — "This is the best cherry-producing section in 
the world. The best cherries are the Royal Ann and Black 
Tartarian. I shall confine myself to apricots and cherries, 
as they are always in demand, and bring the biggest prices. 
I have raised considerable rhubarb and landed it in Chicago 
on Easter Sunday, two months in advance of other shippers. 
I expect to run my fruit shipments up to 100 car-loads a 
year. I have apricot trees on my place that are from twenty 
to twenty-five years old, and one tree that is thirty years 
old. This one tree alone produced 500 pounds of choice 
apricots. Apricot trees begin bearing about the fifth year. 



buy all the staple groceries required. There is no question 
about a man laying up a good bank account every year off 
of five acres of ground if he will only work." 

HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 6. 
Henry Curtner, Warm Springs, Alameda County: "I 
have lived in this (Washington) township for forty-two 
years. I consider the land of this county the most pro- 
ductive in the world. It is not alone good for one particular 
thing, but it is good for anything and everything that will 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



15 



grow anywliere. It is a never-failing land. As I said a 
moment ago, I have lived here forty-two years, and I ha\e 
never known the soil to weaken or go back on any single 
character of product, whether it be hay, corn, barley, wheat, 
vegetables, or fruit. I raise from 23,030 to 25,000 sacks of 
peas and potatoes every year. Potatoes average from 100 
to 250 bushels to the acre. Barley runs from 15 to 20 sacks 
(120 pounds to the sack) per acre. Hay yields fro^n 1J2 
to 2ji tons to the acre. 

"String beans, peas, and sweet corn do well. Good 
grain and farming land in this section of the county can be 
had for $150 per acre. This is a good almond and prune 
locality. I liave known i }4. acres to yield $250 worth year 
after year. 

"Watermelons and muskmelons grow to enormous sizes. 



large olive orchard, the product of which brings him a 
small fortune annually. Olives, when converted into oil, 
are extremely valuable, since olive oil finds ready sale at 
$3-50, $4.00, $5.00, $6.00, $7.00, and $8.00 per gallon, 
according to quality. 

Mr. Gallegos has a standing offer for his lemons of one 
cent each, and as some of his trees yield thousands of 
lemons annually, the income is considerable. A hundred 
lemon trees can be grown on an acre of land, and currants 
and vegetables may be raised between the trees, at a profit 
of $ioo per acre, to which may be added the sale of the 
lemons. One hundred full-grown lemon trees will produce 
on an average 1,000 lemons each year, which, at a cent 
apiece, is $10 per tree, or $1,000 per acre. This is a con- 
servative estimate, when it is a well-known fact that there 

are many trees in this county 
that produce from 2,000 to 
5,000 lemons a year, and in 
some cases 6,000 lemons per 
tree. 

HOW IT PAYS. 



No. 8. 

B. Fassler, of San Leandro, 
has a small cherry orchard — 




Snap Shots at C. C. Mclver's, Mission San Jose. 

"Tomatoes grow all through the winter season, and pro- 
duce again the following year. 

"This is a great grape-growing community. Many of 
my neighbors have grown rich from grapes alone. 

"Lemons and oranges grow abundantly. I have a lemon 
tree that is thirty years old, from whieh I can gather lemons 
every day in the year. It is always producing. 

"Flowers and ornamental trees grow here in profusion. 

' 'All varieties of figs grow here abundantly. I have five 
varieties on my place. Some of my trees are twenty-five 
years old and yield two crops a year. 

"Peaches, plums, and pears grow to perfectness. Several 
varieties of peaches grow from 2J2 to 3 inches in diameter. 

"For richness of soil, salubrity of climate, and beautiful 
scenery the w^orld can not beat Alameda County, and Wash- 
ington Township in particular. 

HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 7. 

Robert Gallegos, Mission San Jose, in the southern part 
of the county, is the owner of several thousand acres of 
land, which is planted in vines and fruit trees. He has a 



only 2i< acres, but there is nothing small in his yearly 
income from the sale of his fruit. For instance, he gathered 
I ton of "Governor Wood" cherries from 7 trees, and sold 
the same for $100, or 5 cents per pound. He has 75 trees 
of the Royal Ann variety, the product of which brought 
$700. He picked 3 tons of Black Tartarians from 30 trees, 
and sold them for 5 cents per pound, or $10 per tree. 
Look at it in any light you please and you will see $1,000 
per acre profit for Mr. Fassler. It is not worth while dis- 
cussing whether land is "high" or "low" priced when it 
produces a small fortune e\-erj- year. 

HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 9. 

It is a common thing for pear trees to yield from 500 to 
800 pounds each of fruit annuall3^ One tree on the Galle- 



i6 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



gos place, Washington Township, yielded 1,500 pounds. 
At 5 cents a pound that one tree produced $75 worth of 
fruit. At ICO trees to the acre, then what? — A fortune in 
pears alone. 



HOW IT PAYS. 

No. 10. 



We have all read of "some pumpkins" time and again, 
but some potatoes raised on the old Beard fami, near Irving- 



5»^=" 






f.-X 





Olive Tree. 

ton, averaged 330 bushels to the acre, and many of them 
weighed 4 pounds and over. When it comes to digging 
from $200 to $250 out of each acre of ground every year, it 
looks as though potato raising was not to be sneezed at, 
especially when such land can be had for $75 to $100 per 
acre. 

ALAMEDA COUNTY VS. THE EAST. 



Eastern folks have no use for ice cream or lemonade in 
winter. 

Alameda folks enjoy them the year round. 

Eastern folks never go ' 'picknicking' ' in winter. 

Alameda folks can go picknicking every day if they like. 

Eastern folks don't raise any strawberries in the winter. 

Alameda folks pick them from the vines in winter. 

Eastern folks don't work in their gardens in viinter. 

Alameda folks do gardening the year round. 

Eastern folks can't find flowers growing in their wintry 
gardens. 

Alameda folks can find as many flowers in winter as in 
summer. 

Eastern farmers can't plow in winter. 

Alameda farmers can plow every day in the year. 

We have said enough about "winter," now let us com- 
pare 

"SUMMERS." 

The eastern summer is full of cyclones. 

The Alameda summer never has them. 

The eastern summer is full of thunder. 

The Alameda summer isn't. 

The eastern summer is streaked with lightning. 

The Alameda summer isn't. 

The eastern summer is full of flies and gnats. 

The Alameda summer isn't. 

The eastern summer is boiline hot. 



Eastern folks go sleighing and almost freeze. 

Alameda County folks never freeze, and have no use for 
sleighs. 

Eastern folks very often find their pumps frozen up. 

Alameda folks are never troubled in that way. 

Eastern folks have to burn "back logs" to keep warm. 

Alameda folks are comfortable without fire. 

Eastern folks have to shelter their live stock in winter. 

Alameda folks let their live stock feed on green grass all 
winter. 

Eastern folks lose five months each year on account of 
the weather. 

Alameda folks never lose a day on account of the weather. 

Eastern folks have to wear heavy clothing in the winter. 

Alameda folks wear the same weight of clothing the year 
round. 

Eastern ladies wear muffs and furs in winter. 

Alameda ladies carry parasols in winter. 




The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 
The 



Banana Tree. 

Alameda summer never is. 

eastern summer requires light clothing. 

Alameda summer doesn' t. 

eastern summer wakes up all kinds of snakes. 

Alameda summer doesn't. 

eastern summer demands palm-leaf fans. 

Alameda summer is full of sea-breezes. 

eastern summer strikes people dead with heat. 

Alameda summer fills them with vim and vigor. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



17 



The eastern summer is full of sleepless nights. 
The Alameda summer nights are full of repose. 
The eastern summer nights are full of lightning-bugs. 
The Alameda summer nights are full of fresh air and no 
bugs. 



OUR QUESTION BOX. 



NO ANSWER. 



Is there a county in California where better apples can be 
grown than in Alameda? 

No answer. 

Is there any county in the State that can beat Alameda on 
the good quality of any variety of fruit? 



Question — How far is San Francisco from Oakland? 

A?iswer — If you have business there, it is about six miles, 
but if you have no business there, it is about one hundred 
miles in expense, more or less — mostly more. 

Q. — What can a poor man do in Alameda County? 

A. — It all depends on what made him poor. If he has 
always been poor, there is little hope for him anywhere; but 
if he has good metal in him (with the accent on "good"), 
he can do as well here as anywhere. 

A poor man with a good reputation had better stay where 
he is known and take his chances there than to attempt to 
"catch on" among strangers. A poor man with a poor 
reputation isn't wanted in Alameda County, or anywhere else 




An Oakland Plaza. 



No answer. 

What county, if any, raises more and better produce of 
all kinds to the acre than Alameda? 

No answer. 

What county e.xceeds Alameda in the quantity of dairy 
products? 

No answer. 

Has any other county in California ever claimed to have 
as good climate for every purpose as Alameda? 

No answer. 

Can any other county in the state offer as many induce- 
ments to home seekers and investors as Alameda? 

No answer. 

Now. then, you have the whole thing in a nutshell. We've 
nothing to add. 

2 



Q. — Is Alameda County a good place for a young man 
who has just learned the trade of making fly nets for horses? 

A. — No; you will starve to death here; besides, all the 
equines would give you the horse laugh. 

Q. — Would you encourage a book agent to try his luck 
in your county? 

A. — Not at selling books. We have not only the best 
libraries in the country, but our newspapers are veritable 
books themselves — e\-ery one of them. 

Q. — Can a man make any money in your county selling 
palm-leaf fans? 

A. — He may sell a few as curios, but our folks have no 
use for them as atmospheric coolers; for the air here in 
summer time is cool enough. 

Q. — Is it possible for a j^oung man to get a situation in 



I8 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



your county as a maker of fine linen clothes — especially 
vests and pants? 

A. — Not that we know of. Occasionally a negro min- 
strel troup comes through here, and some of the members 
wear such things on the stage, but for any one to wear them 
on the street would subject him to a great deal of ridicule. 
Woolen goods is the kind of stuff to wear in this county. 
What is comfortable one day here will be comfortable any day. 

0. — What show is there in Alameda County for a good 
lightning rod agent? 

A. — None at all, unless he brings the lightning with him, 
as there is none here and never was. A streak of lightning 
and a bolt of thunder might be put on e.xhibition here, but 
whether it would pay is another question. Our climate 
hasn' t any use for atmospheric tomfoolery of any kind. 




Tobacco Plant in January. 

Q. — Isn't it awfully hot in Alameda County? 

A. — About as hot as it is east on Easter. 

O. — When do flowers bloom? 

A. — Every day in the year. 

Q. — What is land worth in Alameda County? 

A — All the way from $5.00 to a fortune. 

Q — Where is the best place to locate in 
County? 

A. — Any place; for it will be a "good town' 
arrival, a "better town" the next day, and in less than a 
week you will be writing back to your friends in the east 
that it is the ' 'best town' ' in America. 

Q. — How about the schools? 

A. — The world can not beat them. 

Q. — What's the price of vegetables? 

A. — About half what they cost in the east. 

Q. — Is there any work there for mechanics? 

A. — Yes, indeed, and at wages equal to the best in the 
east. 



Alameda 
on your 



Q. — Is rent high in your county? 
A. — Not as high as it is in the east. 
Q. — What is the politics of your county? 
A. — Very much mixed — so much so that the ins and 
outs are not certain which is which. 

Q. — Is Alameda County a good place for a lawyer? 
A. — It all depends upon the lawyer. As Justice Story 
said, "There is always room at the top." 

O. — If the climate is so healthy in Alameda County, what 
need have you for physicians? 

A. — When our people do get sick, they want a doctor 
quick, and they want the best doctor at that. The best of 
everything is always in demand here — doctors included. 

Q. — Suppose a man has a small income, how is he going 
to get a home in your county? 

A. — Buy it. He can do so on easier terms 
here than anywhere else in this country. Of 
course, he must pay from $100 to $200 down, 
the balance monthly, at $5.00, $10 or $15, as 
may be agreed upon. He can have a house 
built to suit himself on the same terms. 

O. — What is the price of furniture and all 
household goods compared to prices in the 
east? 

A. — About the same. 

Q. — How do household expenses in your 
county compare with the east? 

A. — Everything is in our favor. Some 
things cost more here, and vice versa, but, 
taken as a whole, a man can buy more food 
here of various kinds for $100 than he can in 
the east for $150. One can buy more fuel in 
the east for $20 than he can here, but $20 
worth of coal will last four times as long here 
as $20 worth would in the east. 

O. — Have you any fogs in Alameda County? 
A. — Yes, indeed, and they are a thing of 
beauty and joy as long as they last — a joy to the grass, 
shrubbery, and flowers, leaving a dew just when most 
needed. There never was a fog too many in this county. 
Come out and try one. It will make you feel young again. 
Q. — Are there any steamships in your harbor? 
A. — Yes, hundreds of them, and thousands of other ves- 
sels. We have the biggest thing on earth here, right at our 
doors, too. It is called the Pacific Ocean. 

O. — What class of immigration do you desire most? 
A. — Any class that is intelligent, industrious, and thrifty — 
intelligent enough to stand head -high socially, industrious 
enough to go to work as soon as they reach here, and 
thrifty enough to own their own home. Home owners are 
the persons that build cities and develop the resources of a 
country. 

Q. — What can be raised on a farm in Alameda County? 
A. — Anything, and more of it than can be raised any- 
where else on the face of the earth. 

Q. — What is improved farm land worth? 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



19 



A. — All the way from $50 to $500 per acre. 
O. — Isn't that pretty high for land? 

A. — Not for land in Alameda County, where crops yield 
the vear round. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL 



BLIZZARDS. 

Chicago, Nov. 26, '95. — The 
wildest storm that ever was 
known is raging here. Snow 
has blocked travel on all street- 
cars. Wires are down east of 
here, and our news from the 
east is sent from Canada to San 
Francisco and back here. 

Louisville, Ky., Nov. 26, '95. 
— Awful wind. Terrible rain- 
storm. Turned to sleet and 
then to snow. Fearful blizzard. 
Heavy damages to vessels and 
barges; great loss of property. 

Nashville, Tenn., Nov, 26, '95. 
— The temperatm-e last night 
dropped from 63 to 32, and gave 
us an unlooked-for cold wave 
and a sheet of snow that causes 
us to shiver all over. 



Kansas Cit}-, Mo., Nov. 26, '95. 
— A blizzard of snow, with the 
mercury only ten above zero, is 
upon us. Trains delayed and 
wires down. 



Anderson, Ind., Nov. 26, '95. 
— X fearful hurricane struck 
this community and unroofed 
hundreds of houses and scat- 
tered them into the streets. 
Reports from Richmond, De- 
catur, Ft. Wayne, Jonesboro, 
Ell wood and Marion — in fact, 
all over the state, show evi- 
dences of the furj' of the storm. 



Buffalo, N. Y., Nov. 26, '95.— 
The worst blizzard for years is 
raging here to-day, and over 
fioOjOoo damage has already 
been done to vessels in the 
harbor. 



SUNSHINE. 

Oakland, Cal., Nov. 26, '95. — 
A lovely day; temperature 58. 
Splendid weather for an outing. 
We pity our friends in the east, 
but we can't reach them and 
they can't reach us just now. 
They will later on if they know 
what is what. 

Oakland, Cal. , Nov. 26, '95. — 
The gentle zephyrs of our per- 
petual May make us wonder 
why all the rest of humanity 
doesn't come to Oakland and 
help us enjoy life. 

Oakland, Cal,, Nov. 26, '95. — 
Come to think of it, the temper- 
ature of this city and county 
sometimes changes as much as 
eleven degrees — not enough to 
write about, much less to tele- 
graph abroad. Wonder what 
color snow is anyhow. Maybe 
some one in Nashville can tell 
us. 



Oakland, Cal., Nov. 26, '95 — 
What is a blizzard? Does any 
one in Oakland know? Mer- 
cury must be hard up for com- 
pany that it has to associate 
with zero. This will long be 
remembered as one of the pret- 
tiest of winter days. 

Oakland, Cal., Nov. 26, '95. — 
What beautiful weather we are 
having in Oakland! Now it is 
November 26, 1S95, and no one 
seems to be able to define the 
word "hurricane." It must be 
of "Hoosier" origin. 



Oakland, Cal., Nov 26, '95 — 
The weather is so fine to-day 
that thousands of persons are 
sailing in their boats on the 
lake and bay. Those in sail- 
boats are vnshing for a breeze of 
wind to rest them a little. They 



Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 26, '95. 
— Whew! What a cold snap 
has just struck here! Water 
pipes frozen, vessels stranded, 
barges wrecked, houses up- 
turned, and havoc all over this 
section of country. The ground 
is covered with snow, and on 
that is a heavy sleet which 
makes it difficult for pedes- 
trians to get about or trains to 
move. Everybody is housed 
up. 



will have to send to Buffalo, N. 
Y. , if they want to get more 
than a gentle zephyr. 

Oakland, Cal., Nov. 26, '95 — 
If some one from Cincinnati, 
Ohio, would come here and lec- 
tuieon "Frozen Water Pipes," 
he would draw a large audience. 
Our citizens are always ready to 
hear a discourse on the strange 
capers of the eastern atmos- 
phere. Couldn't some friend 
in Cincmnati send us a photo- 
graph of a frozen water pipe? 
It would be a great curiosity 
here. While waiting for the 
photograph, we'll step out into 
the garden and gather a bouquet 
of flowers, as they are prettier 
and more fragrant at this sea- 
son of the year than any other. 



FARMING IN ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



What advantages e.xist in farming in Alameda County, 
California, over the same line of industry in the east? This 
is an easy question to answer. 

1st. Land here is richer than it is in the east. 

2d. Five acres here will produce from five to ten times 
more than five acres will in the east. 

3d. For every article that can be grown on eastern soil, 
three articles can be grown here. 

4th. Only one crop can be grown on eastern soil, while 
it is a common thing to grow two or more crops here. 

5th. The seasons in the east are always limited to a few 
months, while the season here lasts throughout the year. 

6th. The ground in the east becomes frozen in the 
winter, during which time it is absolutely useless. Here the 
ground never freezes, and is always at the service of the 
plowman. 

7th. The eastern farmer has to house up his stock in the 
winter time, while the Alameda County farmer lets his run 
to green grass. 

8th. The eastern farmer loses from four to five months' 
time each year on account of bad weather, while the Ala- 
meda County farmer never has any bad weather to contend 
with. 

9th. The eastern farmer has to go to the expense of 
burying his produce to keep it from freezing, while the Ala- 
meda County farmer has no such expense. 

loth. The eastern farmer can not produce values at all 
seasons of the year, while the Alameda County farmer pro- 
duces something of value each day. 

SPECIAL ADVANTAGES. 

A farmer by the name of Rogers, residing at San Lean- 
dro, this county, cleared $2,000 from 20 acres of land in 



20 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 




Emden Geese. 

Cresswell's Poultry Yard, Livermore. 

1890. In 1892 he cleared $3,600 from five acres of land, 
having sold a part of his land the year before. 

Last year he raised 6^^ tons of apricots to the acre, and 
sold them at i J 3 cents a pound. He raised 5 tons of cherries 
to the acre, and sold them atfroms}^ to 7^ cents apound, 
according to size, quality, and variety. He raised between 
6 and 7 tons of prunes to the acre, for which he received i J^ 
cents a pound undried. He raised 6 tons of peaches to the 
acre, and received for them 2J3 cents a pound. He raised 
250 pounds of rhubarb to the acre, and sold it at from i J/2 
cents to 45^ cents a pound. This is, in round numbers, 
the exact statement of the crops and prices of the season 
recently ended. They speak for the whole county. 

PROFIT IN CUCUMBERS. 

At Elmhurst, a few miles distant from the city of Oak- 
land, a farmer by the name of Jones began on a capital of 
$150. That was fifteen years ago. Last year he paid taxes on 
$60,000 worth of property. Thus it will be seen that he 
rose from practical poverty to wealth, and his success is due 
to the fertility of the soil and mild climate of Alameda 
County. 

On his arrival, he leased a small plot of land, 
and planted it in cucumbers. By their flavor I 
and size they readily found a market. Selling | 
them to advantage, Mr. Jones could soon afford 
to purchase the land he had formerly leased. 
From one acre to three, then to five, and so 
on, he soon acquired the ownership of a large 
portion of the surrounding countrj-. His money 
was not made through investments or lucky 
deals. Each crop brought its gain. By busi- 
ness ability and industry he made the earth 
yield to him that wealth which she conceals. 
What man has done man can do. Others 
following in the footsteps of the fortunate man 
can amass fortunes for themselves. 

In 1883 Mr. Jones raised 14,000 pounds of 
tomatoes from 80 acres. In the same year he 
produced 400 tons to the acre of cucumbers 
for Dickies. After paying expenses, he found 



that he had realized from his entire farm $5,000. 
Since then, his progress to wealth has been 
steady and sure. For tomatoes the merchant 
will pay I Y2, cents a pound. For cucumbers the 
price varies, according to quality, from 10 cent<i 
to 20 cents a pound. By raising tomatoes and 
cucumbers each acre can be made to yield from 
$300 to $500 gross a season. 

From these figures, which belong to the 
class that never lie, it is evident that a comfort- 
able living can be made in the first of industries. 

A banker's start. 

Rhubarb, cherries, and apricots pay the best. 

One of the wealthiest bankers in the county 

got his start in life by raising rhubarb for the 

market. This lusty and juicy vegetable attains 

an enormous size. It imbibes the nourishment until it often 

becomes as large as a man's wrist. Nor is its flavor or 

juiciness lost with its size. 

Apricots grow well and pay well. They, too, attain large 
dimensions. One species, which has a reddish tinge, pre- 
sents at a distance the appearance of an orange in size and 
color. That this fruit finds its way to the eastern and for- 
eign markets is no wonder. Of the cherries, mention will 
be made later. 

MONEY IN raspberries. 

But perhaps the most striking example of wealth derived 
from the soil is the e.xperience and success of W. Emerson, 
of Haywards. He has made his money from raspberries 
and cherries, and, although he is not what might be called 
wealthy, he and his family are well off". In the last fi\ e years 
he has made two trips to Europe, which fact speaks well for 
his prosperity. 

Raspberries, as the experienced farmer knows, are what 
may be called fastidious plants. They grow only on the 
richest soil, and then need an abundance of water. If the 
land is not rich, and means of irrigation not plentiful, then it 




1 1 ii I i 




Plymouth Rocks. 

Cresswell's Poultry Vard, Livermore. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



21 



is of no use trying- to raise them. Where they will grow, 
other plants will thrive. A healthy raspberry patch is a sure 
guarantee of the richness of the soil. 

Mr. Emerson has two acres planted in this luscious fruit. 
His patch is fifteen years old, and is still yielding a comfort- 
able income. 

Some of the berries he raises will easily cover a quarter of 
a dollar, while others stand nearly as high as a a fifty-cent 
piece. In a single season shoots wiU grow to the astonish- 
ing length of ten feet. In diameter they measure three- 



cherries in 1894, for which he cleared two cents a pound. 
That variety known as Royal Ann is sold mosriy to the 
canneries, and brings fancy prices. 

The Black Tartarian is the favorite for table use, and also 
brings a good price. After fifteen years of hard labor, Mr. 
Emerson has retired from active life, to live in pleasure on 
the fruits of his labor. 

Numerous other examples might be cited, but if three 
men have succeeded, there is ample opportunity for others. 
Those cited stand as living examples of what can be done 




quarters of an inch. Such luxuriant growth speaks for 
itself. 

In 1893, 1894, and 1895, he picked 8,000 pound baskets 
of the fruit. In 1892 he picked 8,500 baskets, and again 
last year he raised 7,500. Much of this was sent to San 
Francisco, but most of it went to eastern markets. So 
famous has the fruit from this section become, that it is con- 
tracted for 6 months before it is picked. For remaining 
firm, and retaining its color, it has no equal, hence its pop- 
ularity. 

TWELVE TONS OF CHERRIES. 

With his cherries Mr. Emerson has been equally success- 
ful. From one and one-half acres he raised twelve tons of 



by labor and intelligence. The products of their famis show 
what can be raised in this vicinity. 

With soil and climate that raises fruit that will find its way 
to the best markets, with steam and electric roads threading 
the county to carry it to market, and with every other 
facility at hand, farming has paid, and can be made to pay. 
The delusion of the farmers being a type of poverty, will, 
therefore, be quickly dispelled by a trip through Alameda 
County, the garden spot of California. 

A PEN PICTURE. 

A writer in the Oakland Tribiuie s&ys: "There are poor 
farmers, it must be admitted. But there are also rich ones. 



22 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



He that is poor deserves sympathy, but must look to him- 
self for the cause of poverty. He who is rich is to be 
envied; but his wealth is the product of his own diligence 
and business ability. It is the possession or lack of this 
latter qualit)' which determines the wealth or poverty of the 
individual. In farming, as in commercial pursuits, there are 
successes and failures. 

If there are more poor men who derive their livelihood from 
the soil than there are among the other classes of workers, 
then the reason is apparent. The two classes which fail to 
make a fortune out of farming would never make a fortune 
at any enterprise. The one is the laborer without educa- 
tion, who should work by the day, and be satisfied with a 
day's wages. The second is a man of wealth, usually by 




Residence of George D. netcalf, Berkeley, 

inheritance, who blindly sinks his money, hires help, and 
puts an iron fence about the place, without a thought to the 
financial side of the question. The same man could buy 
out the most remunerative business to be found, and in six 
months he would quietly take an evening train to parts un- 
known, in order to escape his creditors. 

Agriculture is not a pursuit to be entered upon by the 
unpractical man of no business experience, nor is it a healthy 
plaything for a young capitalist. Successful farming does 
not consist of planting the seed, and then sitting down to 
read while it grows; nor does it consist of raising good crops 
alone. The financial side must be looked after. Negotia- 
tions must be entered into with the consumer. Expense 
and proceeds should be carefully weighed, and money for 
labor, tools, etc., be expended accordingly. 

One of the most prosperous farmers in Alameda County 
contracts to sell his crops before the season begins. How- 



ever the case may be elsewhere, in this county the man of 
financial ability who attends to his business, can and has 
made money by raising and selling fruit and vegetables. 

This is indisputably evinced by a trip through the county. 
Cherries and apricots are the chief products. They can not 
be excelled for size and flavor in this state, and therefore in 
no other. Tons of these fruits find their way east, where 
they excite admiration, and bring their own price. Prunes, 
plums, pears, quinces, all the deciduous fruits, grow in 
abundance, and yield a fair profit to the producer. If the 
poverty-stricken farmer does exist, he keeps himself conspic- 
uously out of the way of observation. On either side of the 
well-kept roads which thread the county are orchards, berry 
patches, and vineyards, through which comfortable, lai-ge, 

and pretty dwellings may be 
seen. In the early spring the 
whole country is pink with the 
blossom of the almond tree, 
while the air is heavy, almost 
to oppression, with the fra- 
grance. Each tree is a beauti- 
ful bouquet, each orchard a 
large flower garden. 

As the stranger gazes for the 
first time on such a sight, he is 
struck with admiration. The 
long rows, growing nearer and 
nearer together through the 
perspective, seem finally to cul- 
minate, and instead of separate 
trees, the whole has blended 
into one mass of pink. The 
pureness of the color is unblem- 
ished even by a leaf 

Then as the seasons sweep 
on in their rotation, the pink is 
superseded by the white of the 
other trees, mingling with the 
fresh green of the young leaves. 
As the delicate petals fall off, and the green fruit begins to 
grow, and the leaves to further develop, the vista is turned 
from pink to green. In the same way, nature, like a great 
sun, changes the green to golden, then to yellow, and 
finally, as she sets to work unseen, till she rises again next 
spring, the deserted branches stand out disconsolately, as 
though their sun had set, and it was midnight. 

BIG FARMS. 

The majority of farms in Alameda County range from 
2 to 20 acres, yet there are some that contain from 75 to 
100 acres, and over. 

A drive through the farms of Mr. Meek and Mr. Owen, 
of Haywards, Alameda County, will prove interesting to 
any one. Large trays are on the ground for drying fruit. 
Boxes are arranged in large piles; some are empty, and 
some full of the fruit ready to be shipped east. Large wag- 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



23 



ons are being loaded. Men are arranging the trays, calling 
to each other or the horses, nailing up the boxes, or pick- 
ing the fruit. The whole scene is one of activity and pros- 
perity. 

Nor are these the largest ranches in the county. Though 
each contains over one hundred acres of improved property, 
there are others as large and as productive. This is the best 
place on the face of the earth for raising deciduous fruits; 
and, realizing this, men have gone into it extensively. 

The two gentlemen named are payingtaxes on from $75,- 
000 to $100,000. But, though they made it all in fruit grow- 
ing, they will not be cited as examples. Smaller places of 
two or five acres will be used to pro\'e that Alameda County 
is without a rival for farming. 

THE SOIL IS LASTING. 

That is to say, in fifteen or twenty years it does not 
become exhausted, and grow destitute of nourishment. 
Those orchardists that ha\'e trees from twenty to thirty years 
old, find that there is just as much nourishment imbibed 
by them in their thirtieth year as there was when they were 
first planted in fresh soil 

The entire surface of the country is spread by a deep layer 
of so-called sediment land. It is consequently rich and fer- 
tile, and productive in its qualities. The climatic conditions 
work in conjunction with the rich soil to the production of 
enormous crops. Warm and moist, never too hot, with but 
few frosts, it is especially adapted for raising fruit of a large 
size and fine flavor. Those frosts that do come, arrive after 
the crops are picked, and leave before the tender seeds are 
put in the ground. 

Haywards, which was originally the county seat, is situ- 
ated comparatively near the center of the county. The soil 
is as rich as the average, and the facilities for commerce 
are better than some portions, and not as good as others; 
in short, the place is characteristic of the county. What 
can be raised there, and in the neighboring towns of San 
Leandro and Elmhurst, is a fair example of the fertility of 
Alameda Countv as a whole. 



MINERALS OF ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



BY H. A. ALDRICH. 



CHROMIC IRON. 

About twelve miles southeast of Livermore, Alameda 
County, in the Cedar Mountain district, in what is called 
the "Douglas mine," a dump of chromic ore was dis- 
covered. This was in 1893. The material in this dump 
was rather hard, and was not considered "high grade. " 
Less than fifty per cent to the ton was iron. The mine is 
owned by D. Mendenhall, of Livermore. 

Another deposit of chromic iron, however, was found on 
the west side of Cedar Mountain, at a distance of thirteen 
miles, that was quite valuable. This mine is also in a south- 



easterly direction from Livermore, and is called the "Men- 
denhall mine." This deposit in 1893 produced about sixty 
tons of high-grade ore, and several hundred tons of a lesser 
grade. The high-grade ore was of a friable nature, and was 
mixed with serpentine rock. Before it could be shipped at 
a profit, it had to be judiciously assorted. The bodies of this 
ore are variable in thickness, and dip heavily into the ser- 
pentine rock, which is much crushed and broken. This 
mine is also owned by C. Mendenhall. 

coal FORM.VTIOX in ALAMEDA COUNTY. 

Considerable prospecting has been done for coal in this 
county, especially in Corral Hollow Canyon, on Richard 
Creek. These coal veins are abundant, and for several 
years past thousands of tons have been mined and shipped 
to Oakland and San Francisco. This coal is of an excellent 
quality, and resembles the Mount Diablo coal in many 
particulars. My opinion is that it is a continuation of the 
same geological age. These coal measures contain three 
important veins, which are bedded on a reddish white sand, 
some of which coheres sufficiently to be called sanditone. 
Between the veins there is a bluish clay that is streaked with 
sand, while the upper stratum is annexed to a body of blue 
clay that attains a thickness of seventy-five feet. This 
formation of coal measures about two hundred feet, and is 
covered with a bluish gray sandstone from eight hundred to 
one thousand feet in thickness. The lower stratum of sand- 
stone contains limonite in concretions. The upper stratum 
contains fossils of wood and steel. 

Of late considerable mining has been done here, and 
thousands upon thousands of tons of good coal have been 
uncovered. A Mr. Treadwell is the owner. 

A railroad is in contemplation — if not already building*— 
to these mines, from both Stockton and the city of Oakland. 
When one or more roads reach these mines, coal will be 
cheaper by one-half than it now is in either Oakland or San 
Francisco. 

IRON ORE. 

There is considerable red hematide of iron in this county, 
extending from the northwest corner to the southeast corner 
of the county, which crops out in various places. All of this 
ore is greatly oxidized and decomposed. This vein of ore 
contains some gold, not much, but will average all the way 
from fifty cents to $4.00 per ton. It is mixed to some 
extent with lime spars and quartz. A few years ago there 
was built on the Laundry Farm a mill for the manufacture 
of paint from the crude product abounding in that locality, 
and during the time the mill was in existence, a good article 
of domestic paint was manufactured and sold in this county, 
up to two years ago, when the mill was destroyed by fire. 
The owners met with a heavy loss at the time, and have 
never been able to rebuild. 

COPPER ORE. 

There is some copper ore in the foot-hills near San 



* Since the above article was written,the railroad from Stockton 
to the mines has been completed and is now in active operation. 



24 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



Leandro, but prospectors have been unable so far to find it 
in sufficient paying quantities to justify them in going to any 
great expense for development. 

MANGANESE ORE. 

Numerous deposits of manganese have been discovered 
in this county at various times, but up to the present time no 
great amount of work has been done by any one to deter- 
mine the extent and value of this mineral. But it is here, 
and the day is not distant when it will be fully developed. 

COMMON SALT. 

Any one that has passed along the numerous marshes of 
Alameda County is cognizant of the existence of salt beds 
that abound in most of them. In 1862, salt works were 



have gone over the fields. For many years oil has been 
oozing out of the shale and sandstone formations, and -.n 
every instance this oil has been strongly impregnated with 
gas. That the near future will develop this most promising 
industry, affording cheaper fuel for manufacturing purposes, 
is a settled fact. My prediction is that within the next few 
years Oakland and other cities and towns of this county 
will be in the full enjoyment of this, one of nature's greatest 
blessings. 



ALPHABETICAL POINTERS. 




" See those Marguerites." 

established at Mt. Eden, on the adjacent salt marsh, and 
these works have had a continuous run for nearly a third of 
a century. These works are a gigantic concern, and have 
turned out thousands of tons of A I salt. 

BORAX. 

At Alameda Point is located the greatest borax refinery 
in the United States. This borax is not found in this 
county, but comes from the Mojave Desert by rail in the 
crude form, and undergoes the process of refining here. 
F. M. Smith is the owner of the mines, and hp is pushing 
his product to the ends of the earth. / 

OIL AND GAS. 

There is every indication that both oil and gas will soon 
become one of the great industries of Alameda County. 
Very flattering reports have been made by the experts who 



A Alameda County Apples, Apricots, and Asparagus are always 
prize winners, when placed in competition with others. 

g Boston must have Beans, 
and tlie time is coming when 
the Boss Bean of Alameda 
County will find a heavy market 
there. Borax, Brandy, and 
Books, to the e.xtent of 459 car- 
loads, followed 15 cars of Beans 
to the east from Oakland last 
year. 

Q^ Canned goods is a looming 
industry of Alameda County, 
and 262 cars were required to 
ship last year's product. Ce- 
ment and Cooperage required 4 
cars. 

J) Drugs are in such little favor 
in our climate that only one 
car-load of druggists' supplies 
were raised in this county last 
year, and these were shipped 
away immediately. Good cli- 
mate and Drugs won't mix verj' 
well. We prefer good climate 
to Drugs any day. 

g Everything of an eatable 
character is raised in this 
count)', and, what is still better, 
we eat only the best, from the 
fact that we raise only the best 
of everything. "Every day is garden day in Alameda County." 

p? Fruits! My! O my! but don't we take the orchard when it 
comes to Fruits! What kind? — Every kind. That tells the 
story, unless you want to know how many cars we shipped away: 
265 of deciduous, and iii cars of dried Fruits. Pick, pack, and 
ship every day is the rule. Six car-loads of Fuse went away from 
here in 1895. 

Q Grain of all kinds can be raised in this county, but as the 
great ranches are being cut up into five and ten-acre fruit farms, 
it looks as though Alameda County would prefer to buy than to 
raise Grain. Land is too valuable here to raise Grain on. Glue 
is something that it pays to stick to. Three car-loads were shipped 
from Oakland last year to eastern points, where the people weren't 
as "stuck-up" as they needed to be. 

J-J Hay, Hides, and Hops are mentioned elsewhere in this book, 
but we guess it won't hurt to say that twenty-eight car-loads of 
these were shipped from here last year, followed by eight car- 
loads of Horses. In olden times the Horses would have gone 



F.-l CTS AND FIG URES. 



25 



ahead and pulled the load, but electricity and steam are rapidly 
making the Horse a back number. 

I Industries of all kinds, old and new, are hard at work here, 
and still there is room for more. Our people are just waking 
up to the importance of them: and although Alameda County leads 
all other counties in the state with but one exception, still the more 
the merrier. There is always plenty of business and plenty of 
money where there are plenty of industries. 

J Joaquin Miller, the poet, some years ago quit mining, and 
traveled all over the Pacific Coast in search of "Paradise on 
earth." He knew it was somewhere west of the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains, and finally he succeeded in locating it right here in 
Alameda County, and here he settled; and right here he is to-day 
on "The Heights," a few miles east of Oakland. 

J^ Kangaroos are scarce in this county. In fact, they are not 
cultivated at all. Yet the Hide and Pelt (not the Kangaroo 
kind) industry is a big thing, and 
is growing all the time. While 
but 32,000 pounds of hides and 
pelts were shipped from here 
last year, the prospects are that 
the figures will be more than 
doubled this year. 

L Leather pays better than 
pelts, from the fact that it 
keeps more labor and capital 
busy. Yet this industry is 
young. Only fifteen car-loads 
of Leather were shipped from 
here last year, and but five car- 
loads of Lumber. However, we 
need about all the Lumber that 
we can get hold of at present for 
building purposes. We are 
great on "home industry" in 
Alameda County. 

JVJ^ Machinery of all kinds is 
manufactured here, from 
shoe hooks to hammers and 
engines for steamships. Our 
Machinery goes to the extreme 
ports of the Pacific Ocean, and 
the "music of the mills" can be 
heard day and night. 

^ Natural gas will unquestion- 
ably be found in sufficient 
quantities in this county to heat all the furnaces, great buildings, 
and dwellings, and thereby decrease the price of coal and wood. 
Where there's coal, there's gas, and as we have the coal already, 
we are also ready for the gas. 

Q Oranges as good as the best have been raised in this county, 
but there is more profit in other kinds of fruit, such as Olives 
and Prunes, and to these instead of Oranges will Alameda County 
pay most attention. 

p Peaches, Pears, Plums, and Potatoes are the P's that pay best, 
and stand for Prosperity, Progress, and Plenty. Alameda 
County has a record second to no other county in the state for size 
and quality of these. Powder is one of the P's of Alameda County, 
of which 444 car-loads, or 11,142,000 pounds, were shipped last 
year. 

Q Quicksilver veins have never been found in this county, but 

the quickest and surest ways of getting silver is to first get hold 

of an acre or two of Alameda County land, and then begin to dig, 

hoe, and plow, and pretty soon silver will begin to crop out of the 



soil and the trees in the shape of vegetables and fruits; and you 
may rest assured that silver of this character will never be demon- 
etized or depreciated, notwithstanding the fact of its free and vol- 
untary coinage on your part. 

p Railroads traverse this county in every direction— broad gauge, 
narrow gauge, cable, and electric, and the traffic is wonderful. 
Electric cars are already skirting the foot-hills, and the time is not 
distant when they will scale the summit of tlie highest hills. Rapid 
transit for passengers and produce means quick market, quick sale, 
and quick money. 

Cf Strawberries — you'vereadof these before. Well, now you can 
eat tliem, if you live in Alameda County. You may begin in 
January and eat every month in the year. Raise them in your 
garden if you wish. Remember, that nowhere else in the world 
can larger or more luscious Strawberries be raised on a given spot, 
at all seasons of the year, than in Alameda County, California. 




Residence of C. T. H. Palmer, Berkeley. 

Something might be said about Sulphur, since 72,000 pounds of 
it were shipped from here last year, but Sulphur and Strawberries 
don't mi.x as well as Strawberries and Sugar, so just read the beet- 
sugar article somewhere else in this book, and be convinced. 
"Y Try as we may, it is hard to convince some lolks that the 
Temperature of Alameda County is unequaled anywhere. 
Year in and out it won't average over 11 degrees one way or an- 
other. One or two extremes are recorded as among the ' 'phenom- 
enal." This article is being written January 4, 1S96, and four out 
of five of the drivers on the delivery wagons, and other teamsters 
of the city, are in their shirt sleeves. More than a dozen bare- 
footed children have passed the window of the writer during the 
day; and yet there have passed quite a number of overcoats on 
the backs of thin-blooded persons, some of whom wear overcoats 
the year round— jxassing and repassing hundreds of persons every 
day who have never worn an overcoat since they became residents 
of this countj-. 

JJ Unless a man will work a little to improve his surroundings, 
he can do no better here than elsewhere. A man that will not 



26 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



work is worth nothing to any community. Sucli a man is not wanted 
in this county, or in this state, for that matter. The best is good 
enough for anyone, and Alameda County offers the best climate, 
the best soil, the best educational advantages, and the best social 
surroundings. A man that will not try to succeed when he has the 
best of everything, will never become an angel. 

Y' Vineyards abound in great numbers in Alameda County. 
Grapes of every variety grow here voluminously. Vast quan- 
tities of wine are manufactured here, and shipped to all parts of 
the earth. The Vintage of this county won three out of four med- 
als at the Paris Exposition. The wines of France, Germany, and 
Italy aren't "in it," when compared to the wines of Alameda 
County. Last year eighty-five car-loads of wine were shipped from 
here to the east. Three times as much crossed the bay to San 
Francisco, to be shipped from there under special labels. 
\Y When it comes to Wool and sheep-grease, we don't cut much 
of a figure, yet we made a record of 354,000 pounds last year 
— eastern shipment. We shall double the record this year. We 
ha\-e Woolen mills here, and we manufacture Woolen goods. We 
may change our mind, and make our Woolen goods into garments, 
and sell our Wool to the eastern folks in that way. We guarantee 
our Wool to "neither rip, ravel, nor tear," and to be a yard wide 
or more. 

J^ Xenophon, the Stoic, would have died with a smile of satis- 
faction on his face had he lived in Alameda County. Any man 
that can not be satisfied with the blessings that nature has bestowed 
jpon Alameda County, can not find satisfaction tliis side of the 
grave, and such a man will be sure to find no satisfaction beyond it. 
y You may travel from one section of the globe to another until 
you have completed the circuit of the five grand divisions of 
the earth, and nowhere will you be able to find a more congenial 
;limate, or more picturesque surroundings, or richer soil, or better 
opportunities for "getting on in the world," than exist in Alameda 
Covmty, in the great state of California. 

2 Zero weather is unknown here. This very day, January 4, 1896, 
is a beautiful day — sunshine all day, atmosphere mild, as stated 
in paragraph "T." Children are going barefooted, and men mov- 
ing about in their shirt sleeves — yet at this very hour a glass-worker 
in Anderson, Indiana, lies a corpse, having frozen to death last 
night within ten feet of his own door. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL. 



Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 27, '95. 
— We have freezing weather 
here, and our flowers, which 
were blooming luxuriantly, are 
frozen. Pensacola also reports 
a freezing temperature. 



Oakland, Cal., Nov. 28, '95. — 
The despatch to the leftappeared 
in the papers this moruiug. 

Isn't Florida the country that 
was said to be so warm in win- 
ter? (We know it is in the 
summer.) My! my! the flies 
and bugs and gnats and mos- 
quitoes one encounters in Flor- 
ida. Yes, and Jacksonville is 
the "winter resort" town of the 
state. What will freeze flow- 
ers will freeze oranges and figs. 
'Tis a pity. However, the place 
to escape insects in the summer 
and freezing spells in the winter 
is right here in Oakland, Ala- 
meda County, California. 

P. S. — Read the telegram on 
the left again and notice what 
eSfect the third word in the sec- 
ond line has on your nerves. 



Wichita, Kan., Dec. 20, '95. — 
A terrible blizzard has been rag- 
ing all day. Snow has fallen 
all over this section, and trains 
are delayed from five to six 
hours, and a blockade is feared. 

Kansas Citj', Dec. 20, '95. — A 
despatch from Kansas City sajs 
all trains on the M. K. & T. 
north of Sedalia have been 
abandoned on account of the 
"washout storm." The whole 
coimtry is flooded. 

Sherman, Tex., Dec. 20, '95. 
— A Sherman, Texas, despatch 
reports a cyclone four miles 
north of that city, resulting in 
great loss of property and the 
injury of many persons. 

Spokane, Wash., Dec. 20, '95. 
— A despatch from Spokane, 
Wash , says: Snow has been 
falling steadily in Idaho, Ore- 
gon, and Washington since yes- 
terday noon. Trains are all 
more or less delayed. Street- 
car service in this city is at a 
standstill. 

Seattle, Wash., Dec. 20, '95. — 
A terrific storm is raging on 
Puget Sound this afternoon , and 
vessels dare not leave the 
docks. 

Despatch from Colfax, in our 
own state, reports a fearful 
storm near Chico in which a 
man and his wife were found 
buried in three feet of snow. 
They were alive when found, 
although their faces, feet, and 
hands were badlv frozen. 



Mariposa, Cal., Dec. 16, '95. — ■ 
Four inches of snow fell yester- 
daj' at Mariposa. 



Oakland, Cal.,' Dec. 20, '95. — 
Read the despatches on the left 
before you read om- remarks in 
this column. 

There never has been on this 
earth a lovelier day than this 
December 20, 1895, as we find it 
right here in Alameda County, 
California. 

Blizzards of snow and hurri- 
canes north of us; railroads 
blockaded by snow east of us; 
cyclones south of us, and men 
and women freezing to death 
in snow-storms in oiu" own 
state, while here in Alameda 
County the sun is shining, 
flowers blooming, and children 
running barefooted in the 
street. The weather bulletin 
says we may look for rain to- 
night. Well, let it come. This 
is supposed to be the rainy sea- 
son, and a little water — yes, a 
plenty of it — will be hailed with 
joy. 

The contrast presented in 
these two columns ought to 
settle the question of climate 
beyond all reasonable doubt, 
and settle it too in favor of Ala- 
meda County. We challenge 
coinparison w4th the world. 



Oakland, Cal., Dec. 16, '95.— 
Yesterday was one of the finest 
days we've had. Mariposa is 
in California, and so is Alameda 
Count)'. If we had a fall of 
snow here, we'd think the mil- 
lennium had come. Mariposa 
can keep her snow. We prefer 
sunshine and flowers. 



A FEW DONTS. 



Don't come here because you are not wanted where you 
are. It will be dangerous. 

Don't come here expecting to get rich without work. 
Don't come here without some money. If you are 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



27 



unmarried, bring enough money with you to tide you over 
several months. 

If you have a family, bring enough money with you to 
engage in business or build a small home. 

Don't come here unless you are able to own something of 
a taxable value. 

Don't come here to "catch on" if you have never caught 
onto anything where you are. You will need as much grip 
here as anywhere. There is more to catch onto here in the 
same length of time than there is the east, but you must be a 
good ' 'catcher' ' and a good holder as well. There is plenty 
here for every one — every one that makes himself useful. 

Don't come here because you are ' 'willing to do anything," 
unless you know exactly 
what it is that you are go- 
ing to do " willingly. ' ' 

Don't come here and 
then ' 'wait for something 
to turn up." If you are 
not able and disposed to 
turn up something your- 
self, stay where you are. 
The "turn-ups" here have 
everything they want. 



OUR PROLIFIC 
SOIL. 



James C. Kyte, a pio- 
neer of Oakland, residing 
at 18 1 2 Market Street, 
speaking of the wonderful 
productions of the soil of 
Alameda County in early 
days, says: — 

' 'Horace Greeley visited 
this county on his trip to 
the Pacific Coast, and was 
surprised to find oui 
wheat running ninety-six 
bushels to the acre. 

When he got back to New York, he wrote an article for 
the Tribune, pronouncing it the most prolific wheat yield 
in the world. 

' 'The land on which Oakland is built is as good soil as 
there is in California. John Potter owned a garden spot in 
early days right in the heart of the city (bounded by Sec- 
ond and Third, Clay and Washington Streets) ; and on one 
vine he raised three squashes that weighed 90, 240, and 320 
pounds respectively. 

"On the block bounded by Market, West, Fourth, and 
Fifth Streets, Marshal Curtis raised carrots that pulled the 
scales down to the 18-pound mark. 

"Franklin Warner had a garden near Curtis' place on 
which he raised a carrot that was 5 feet from the top to 




where the diameter was i inch. The diameter at the top 
was 8 inches and the circumference 2 feet. On the same 
patch of ground he raised a beet that weighed 96 pounds, 
and filled a wheelbarrow when loaded with it. 

"I have known potatoes to yield 800 bushels to the acre 
that were grown right here in Oakland. I had a patch of 
15 acres planted in peas, from which I supplied the San 
Francisco market daily with 30 sacks of peas, each sack 
holding 2j^ bushels. This supply was kept up daily from 
September 15 to January 15. The total output for the four 
months was 3,600 sacks, or 8,800 bushels, which made the 
average about 590 bushels per acre. These peas were of 
the dwarf Marophat variety. 

•T have at the present 
time in my garden a to- 
mato vine from which I 
have been picking ripe 
tomatoes week after week, 
winter and summer, for 
the past two years. 

"R. S. Farrally, on the 
San Leandro road, raised 
a carrot 36 inches long, 
31 inches in circumfer- 
ence, and 31 pounds in 
weight after all the leaves 
had been cut off. ' ' 



VEGETABLE 
GROWING. 



Frank Silva's Artesian Well. 



It may be that there is 
some vegetable in the 
w orld that is not raised in 
Alameda County. If so, 
the writer is ignorant of 
its existence. 

It is a matter of record 
that one man in tiiis 
county — David L. Per- 
kins — has raised and mar- 
keted 1 30 varieties of vegetables. During the Paris Expo- 
sition he visited Europe, and exhibited his products at the 
French metropolis. Before he reached home from his 
journey abroad, orders had preceded him from France, 
Germany, England, Belgium, Russia, China, Japan, and all 
other countries, asking for seeds of his various products. 
He filled all the orders, and made a name for Alameda 
County that is world wide. 



SALT. 

Few people realize the magnitude to which the salt indus- 
try has grown in Alameda Count)-. There are jjroduced 



28 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



^r 



ALAMEDA COUNTY APPLES. 







Have you ever heard of the ' 'Oregon apple' ' ? 
Do you know of its origin? It is a product of 
Alameda County. How did Oregon come by 
this fruit? — Through John Llewellyn. Who 
was he ? — He was an Alameda County nursery- 
man. His nursery was located thirteen miles 
southeast of Oakland. In 1846 he loaded a 
wagon with apple trees and hauled them to 
Oregon and sold them to farmers. In a few 
years Oregon had made a reputation for raising 
fine apples. They are a fine apple — they can't 
be beaten. In Oregon they are called the "Or- 
egon apple." In California they are known as 
the "Llewellyn;" for that is their name, and 
Alameda County is their birthplace. 

Llewellyn made a reputation on cherries, and 
that reputation is as good as ever, The "Llew- 
ellj-n cherry" went into the San Francisco 
market wearing a circumference of three inches, 
and the natives opened their eyes and mouths at 
the same time at the sight of them. 

Llewellyn raised and marketed pears that 
weighed three and one-half pounds each; straw- 
berries that weighed from one and one-fourth to 
one and one-half ounces each. 

The section of country in which Mr. Llewellyn 
made his reputation on fruits is still producing 
fruits of all kinds, and maintaining the reputation 
of old. 



THE WARM SPRINGS. 



At Mendenhall Springs, LIvermore, Alameda County. 

annually about 26^000 tons. The salt is procured by evap- 
orating the salt waters of the bay in large vats prepared for 
the purpose, that are filled by the tides. 

There are several parties engaged in the enterprise, who 
contributed to the output last year, as follows: — 

Union Pacific Salt Co 7,500 tons 

Plummer Bros.' Crystal Salt Works 3,500 " 

P. Marsicano 3,000 " 

P. Jessen 2,000 " 

D. Pestdorf. 1,500 " 

P. Mickleson ii500 " 

J. Mickleson 1,500 " 

Barton & Putnam 1,000 " 

Other smaller producers 4,500 " 

The Alameda Co.'s salt has acquired an excellent reputa- 
tion, and by analysis is shown to be second to none in the 
world, and superior to any Liverpool or foreign salts in the 
market. The future of this industry is most encouraging. 



In the southwest corner of the county, 14 

miles north of San Jose and 2 miles south of 

- " - - Mission San Jose, is located the once famous 

and fashionable watering place known as the 

Warm Springs, where, during the period from 

1852 to 1868, 300 people often sojourned daily during the 

summer. 

There are 6 warm springs, flowing about 50,000 gallons 
per day, at a temperature of 98°, the water containing princi- 
pally soda, borax, and sulphur. The water of these springs 
is exceedingly soft, and is thought by those who have bathed 
in them to be the finest in the state. This place is now 
owned by Josiah W. Stanford, and consists of about 1,250 
acres, de\^oted to the raising of grapes, hay, grain, and beef 
cattle. About 200 acres are planted to grapes, part of the 
vineyard being planted as early as 1852. The wine cellar 
is of modern construction, with all latest improvements, and 
a distillery, and has a storage capacity of about 300,000 
gallons. 

This property being particularly adapted for a watering 
place and pleasure resort, will probably at some future time 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



29 



be opened to the public, when, without doubt, it would 
become one of the most popular resorts in the state, being 
more centrally located than any other as regards San Fran- 
cisco, Oakland, and San Jose. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL. 



BLIZZARDS. 

Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 3, '96. — 
The worst blizzard of the season 
is raging here to-day — in fact, 
the whole surrounding country 
is suffering with the ravages of 
the storm. The thermometer 
is below zero. 



SUNSHINE. 

A'ameda Co., Cal.,Jan. 3, '96. 
— The thermometer is up to 58, 
and the sun is shining most 
beautifully. Birds are singing, 
flowers blooming, and the streets 
are filled with promenaders. 



.San Jose has been in constant use for many years; in fact, 
that portion of Alameda County was settled nearly one 
hundred years ago, and much of the land has been under 
cultivation ever since. The major part of it has been culti- 
vated for a period of forty years at least. 

J. W. Stanford, the owner of the famous Warm .Springs, 
and one of the most thrifty vineyardists and all-round 
rancher of that locality, says: "The land in this section is 
very strong, and vineyards that have yielded four to five 
tons of grapes to the acre for forty years without irrigation 
or fertilizing, are looking as well and bearing as heavily as 
they did twenty years ago. The finest grade of Chevalier 
barley is also raised in this part of the county, as well as the 
largest peas and potatoes." 




A Cherry Orchard in Bloonr. 



Washington , D. C.,Jan. 3, '96. 
— This is a miserable cold and 
wet day. Rain and sleet makes 
it difficult for pedestrians to get 
about. A number of persons 
have slipped and fallen on the 
streets. 

St. Louis, Mo. , Jan. 3, '96. — 
A cold raiu here last night, with 
spitting snow to-day, makes it 
very disagreeable. Blizzards 
westand north of us are reported 
and ma}- reach here to-night or 
to-morrow. 



Alameda Co., Cal. Jan. 3, '96. 
— Although rain is needed in 
Alameda County to-day, we can 
get along without it. The only 
persons that fall down here are 
the foot-ball players — and they 
enjoy it. 

Alameda Co., Cal., Jan. 3, '96. 
— Cold in winter and hot in 
summer makes St. Louis a very 
disagreeable place to live in. 
Why not immigrate to Alameda 
Count}-, where life is always 
enjoyable? 



MONEY IN LEMONS. 



INEXHAUSTIBLE SOIL 



The soil in the vicinity of Warm Springs and Mission 



The lemon industry promises great results. No irriga- 
tion is necessary in Alameda County. Lemon land can be 
had for $100 an acre. Ten acres will cost $1,000. One 
thousand trees will cost $350. 

The land between these trees can be used for small fruit 
and vegetables, and from $50 to $150 per acre can be made 
in this way, until the trees begin to produce, which will be 
in the fourth year. 

The fourth year the figures will show as follows: One 
thousand trees, 60 lemons each, 60,000 in all. Fifth 
year, 120 lemons each, 120,000 in all. Si.xth )-ear, 600 
lemons each, 600,000 in all. Seventh year, 1,000 lemons 
each, 1,000,000 in all. 

LOW ESTI.\I.\rE. 

The above is a low estimate, since it is a well-known fact 



30 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



that double the number of lemons has been grown in the 
same tune on an equal number of trees. Now suppose a 
man never raised a pound of vegetables, nor received any 
income \vhate\'er upon his investment for the first four 
years, how would the figures stand? 

As we ha\-e seen elsewhere in this book, Robert Gallegos, 
of Mission San Jose, gets a cent a piece for his lemons by 
yearly contract, and others can do the same. But suppose 
the lemons referred to in the ten-acre tract above, fetch 
only one-half cent each, or thirty cents per tree, what then? 
Let us see. 

First crop $ 300, or | 30 per acre 

Second crop 1,200, " 120 " 

Third crop 3, 000, " 300 " 

DOES IT PAY? 

Of course it does; for 
the receipts above 
quoted are less than 

the actual facts warrant. a™,^^™™™.^™™.^^^™. 
What is still better, a ' \'- 

lemon crop is always a ^ ^ t,^ 

crop with an every-day '?- ^ M ^ "^^i 

market. Can this be ',ig,- ^|© i 

said of any other fruit? hEihki ' 
They are a hardy fruit, HBHr ^ 

and will either hang \,' ,^ > ■jp^ij^gt, 

on the tree or may be 
stored or cured in any 
cool room or basement. 
They beat the egg and 
poultry question all 

hollow when it comes ^^^^Ki'-^ ' ' f^V" 
to trading them to the 
grocer for tea, coffee, 
and sugar. 

INDEPENDENCE. 

An owner of 10 acres 

of lemon trees can al- California Buttercups, Gathered Jan 

ways wear an air of in- 
dependence; for he knows full well that 1,000 lemon trees 
means $2,500 per year for thirty years, hit or miss. If 
this income is too small, he can buy 10 or 20 acres more, 
and double or treble his income. But 10 acres ought to 
satisfy any ordinary man ; for, with what vegetables he can 
grow between the trees, he is always sure of $100 per acre 
extra. 

Who will buy all these vegetables? might be asked. The 
question is answered in the fact that within a radius of 50 
miles of the remotest corner of Alameda County, there are 
over 500,000 mouths to be fed. 




LIVERMORE VALLEY. 



This valley lies thirty miles from Oakland, in a south- 
easterly direction, and is a small empire within itself 



The soil is productive of every variety of fruit, vegetable, 
and cereal. The wine grapes grown in this valley have no 
superior in the world, since their vintage has received the 
gold medal at the Paris Exposition, and everywhere that 
they have been exhibited. 

The entire valley is a veritable garden spot. 
In the hills near by is the famous Corrall Hollow coal 
mines, from which 30,000,000 tons have been developed, 
with probably four times that quantity yet to be worked. 
There is no better coal in the world than this. Experience 
has demonstrated its usefulness in all the various lines of 
Industry. It burns clean, is Bootless, and makes but little 
ash. 

A railroad has recently been built into the mines from 
Stockton, and the purpose is to extend it to Oakland. 

When this is done, it 
will prove to be a won- 
derful stimulus to com- 
merce and industry in 
this city. It is esti- 
mated that the foreign 
coal that comes through 
the Golden Gate costs 
from $7,000,000 to 
$9,000,000 annually. 
This tremendous out- 
put of gold will now 
cease, and Alameda 
County, or, rather, 
Murray Township, will 
get the benefit. 

Near the above mines 
is plenty of limestone, 
fire cla)', and cement 
beds. The develop- 
ment of these industries 
will soon be under full 
headway, and the 300, - 
000 or 400,000 barrels 
of German cement that comes to this market every year will 
cease, and local trade will prosper accordingly. 

THE TOWN OF LIVERMORE. 

In the center of the valley sits the town of Livermore, with 
1,500 happy, progressive, and healthy people. Healthy, 
because they live where rheumatism, asthma, throat troubles, 
and blood diseases are comparatively unknown. Happy, 
because they can enjoy nature at its best; and prosperous, 
because the soil at their feet is the most productive in the 
world. The citizens of Livermore are naturally proud of 
their surroundings, and their spirit of progress is of the high- 
est order. Not only is Livermore one of the best trading 
towns in the county, but it is also one of the prettiest. 
Numerous private dwellings of a high-grade architecture 
adorn the streets, while there are several costly and impos- 
ing business blocks. 



uary IN, isyo, Li\erniore Valley. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



31 



The high school building is a commanding edifice, and 
the sanitarium of Dr. John W. Robertson is a commodious 
structure. Several illustrations of Livermore and valley 
appear in this book, through the courtesy of W. R. Ellis, 
editor of the Herald. Mr. Ellis has done more within the 
past year to advertise Livermore Valley than had previously 
been done in any ten years. He has issued several illus- 
trated editions of the Herald, setting forth the climate, soil, 
products, and possibilities of that section. No other man 
has performed one-tenth of the good work for that valley 
that he has. 



His traction engines will pull a load that will stall 100 horses. 
These engines find their way to England, Australia, Japan, 
Sandwich Islands, British Columbia, and South America. 
His harvesters have a capacity for cutting and threshing 
3,500 bushels per day, and cover from 40 to 50 acres of 
ground — sacking all the grain ready for market, using 10 
horses and 4 men, all told. He gives employment to 120 
men. 

Mr. Best says he often finds wheat running 75 bushels to 
the acre, and barley from 100 to no bushels per acre. 
The expense of running his machines is about equal to the 




Livermore High School. 



ALAMEDA SUGAR CO. 



The factory of this company is located at Alvarado. The 
sugar is made from beets. The beets are worth $4. 00 per ton . 
From 18 to 25 tons per acre is the average yield. The 
company has 3,470 acres in beets this year. The output of 
sugar last year was 2,700 tons. 



BEST'S BIG BUSINESS. 



Daniel Best is a manufacturer of machinery at San 
Leandro. His machines are world beaters for strength. 



cost of twine on an eastern machine. He will contract to 
cut grain for 25 cents per acre. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL. 



Sherman, Tex. , May 15, '96. Alameda County, Cal.— Cy- 

— Cyclone here to-day. Several clones unknown here, 
persons killed. Great loss of 
property. 

Frankfort, Kan., May 17, '96. .A.lameda County, Cal. — Cy- 

— Terrible storm raging. Many clones unknovim here. 

killed. 



32 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



Des Moines, Iowa, May 17, 
'95. — Cyclone started in Daicota 
has reached here, and consider- 
able damage reported. 

Ortonville,Mich.,May25, '96. 
— A cyclone has just passed 
through this section, lajnng 
waste thousands of dollars in 
property. 

Falls City, Kan., May 17, '96. 
— The entire town of Boda\-ille, 
in Riley County, was swept from 
the face of the earth to-day by 
a cyclone. Several persons 
killed. 

Frankfort, Ky., May 17, '95. 
— A cyclone devastated this city 
at 8 P. M. Nearly fifty build- 
ings were demolished. 

Benton, Ky., May 17, '96. — 
The cylone here to-day killed 
an entire family — John Ander- 
son, his wife and three children. 

Dec. 15, 1895. — A despatch 
from Redding, Shasta County, 
reports that King and Schlund , 
two men from that town, got 
caught in a snowstorm on Iron 
Mountain, and Schlund per- 
ished in the snow. 



Seattle, Wash., Dec. iS, '95. 
—Plenty of snow here. Coast- 
ing' is good. Moses Sommer- 
field, aged 63, was killed here 
to-day by being struck with a 
coasting sled. 



Alameda County, Cal. — Cy- 
clones unknown here. 



Alameda County, Cal. — Cy- 
clones unknown here. 



Alameda County, Cal. — Cy- 
clones uukuovvn here. 



THE FISH WE EAT. 



Alameda County, Cal. — Cy- 
clones unknown here. 



Alameda County, Cal. — dy- 
clones unknown here. 



Dec. 15, 1895. — This is Sun- 
day, and a lovely &.a.y it is. We 
pity our friends in Shasta 
Count}'. What a contrast be- 
tween that county and our glo- 
rious county of Alameda! There 
is nothing to prevent everybody 
in Shasta County from mo\-ing 
out of that snowy, blowy section 
into Alameda County, where the 
climate is always on its good 
behavior. 



Alameda Count}-, Cal., Dec. 
iS, '95. — Looks like rain to-day; 
hope it will pour down. Our 
farmers never get too much 
rain. Later: It rained a few 
April showers, just enough to 
lay the dust. What a blessing 
rain is compared to snow! The 
latter we never have. The 
former we never get too much 
of. 



TRANSMISSION OF POWER. 



"The Pacific Transmission Company has been organ- 
ized," says Trustee Fletcher, of Alameda, "and in less than 
twelve months from now electric power will be brought 
from Corral Hollow to Alameda and Oakland for mo\'ing 
heavy machinery, for lighting and other purposes. The 
company will start with 6,500 horse-power, and increase it 
according to demand." 



BY F. J. EDWARDS. 

[Dealer in and shipper of Oalvland harbor fish, 914 Washington Street and 464 
Eleventh Street.] 



The citizens of Oakland are the most favored people in 
the world in regard to getting fish to eat. I doubt if there 
is a harbor anywhere that affords a more voluminous or 
greater variety of fish than our own harbor right here at 
Oakland. 

The rivers and streams that empty into this harbor are 
well supplied with the finny tribe, to which may be added 
the vast number and varieties of ocean fish that find their 
way into our ba)' from the great Pacific through the Golden 
Gate. 

I herewith append a partial list of the fish attainable in 
this market, namely, flounders, salmon, sea trout, soles, 
sturgeon, salmon trout, halibut, sea bass, brook trout, lake 
trout, striped bass, turbut, perch, black bass, grills trout. 
porg}% pike, barracuda, pomotis, shad, jewfish, mullet, 
slate, whitefish, eels, kingfish, octopus, rock cod, codfish, 
catfish, suckers, carp, squid, anchovy, sardine, herring, 
white bass, tom cod, smelts. We ha\'e also the largest and 
fattest clams, the beds of which extend the whole length of 
the northern shore of our county, or a distance of forty 
miles. 

In the matter of oysters the world at large can not excel 
those grown right here at our own doors. Our largest and 
best oysters were brought here from the east and trans- 
planted, and by virtue of our incomparable climate, they 
soon outgrew their original size, and improved in flavor at 
the same time. By reason of this fact I have no hesitancy 
in claiming that there is no oyster grown in the world 
to-day that is superior to the Oakland Bay oyster. 

I predict a wonderfully large shipping trade in this line 
within the ne.xt few years. 

shell-fish. 

Here is a list of our shell-fish ^^•hich I believe will com- 
pare favorably with any eastern fish market of which I have 
knowledge: Oysters, crabs, shrimps, crevisse, soft-shell 
clams, hard-shell clams, prouning, crawfish, mussels, soft- 
shell crabs, hard-shell crabs. 

I am free to confess that no special effort has ever been 
put forth looking toward the shipping of fish from this 
market to other places, but I am satisfied that capital will 
find this a most profitable line of investment. 

Here is a great industry for some one, and when it is 
firmly established, it will be as profitable, far-reaching, and 
enduring as any other industry on the Pacific Coast. 



The birds, beautiful warblers, are with us summer and 
winter. Many of them are birds of rare coloring, among 
which are the American pippit, pine finch, green-backed 
goldfinch, dwarf hermit thrush, California bush tit, Samuel's 
song sparrow, plain crested titmouse, bullock's onoli, etc. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



33 



CALIFORNIA GIANTS. 



Alameda County comes first in the production of giants. 
Joseph Jenkins, who stands seven feet four inches in his 
stockings, was born in Oakland less than twenty-one years 
ago. His parents do not exceed the average in height. At 
Bushnell's gallery, when he was photographed, he had to be 
placed in a corner in order that he could stand erect under 
the sloping glass roof When he travels around the streets, 
he has to duck his head under the awning and keep a sharp 
lookout for overhanging signs. 

Sonoma County comes second, with a seventeen-year-old 
boy, John Wiley Church, who stands skyward seven feet 
and one-quarter of an inch. John resides at Healdsburg, 
and is a fruit vender. 

San Joaquin County has a young man who parts his hair 
at a distance of six feet eleven and a half inches from his 
heels. His name is Joseph William Hyde. He is a black- 
smith, and also the drum major of the Sixth Regiment Band 
of Stockton. 

Geo. W. Peachy, of Los Angeles, is si.x feet nine inches 
high. He is the only man in the United States who is the 
child of a soldier of the Revolutionary War. His father, 
Benjamin Peachy, was born in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, 
1746. Mr. Peachy weighs 320 pounds. 

Butte County has a giant by the name of Frank E. Peck, 
who is six feet eight inches high. He resides at Chico, 
where he has serv^ed several terms as city constable. 

Santa Cruz County also has a giant the same height as 
Mr. Peck — six feet eight inches. His name is Thomas 
Francis Patrick Leonard. His mother is five feet eleven 
and a half inches tall. His father, six feet two inches. He 
has a brother who is six feet seven inches, and a still smaller 
brother who is six feet four inches. 

Ventura County claims six feet seven and a half inches 
for Juan de Dios Valenci, and six feet six inches for Judge 
Benjamin Tully Williams, both residents of the town of 
Ventura. 

Placer County has a prize product in the person of Frank 
H. Depender. He is the deputy sherift" and jailer of that 
county, and tips the beam at 260 pounds weight, while he 
stands up in the air six feet seven inches. He is the most 
popular man in the county. 

Calaveras County is the home of Henry Zwinge, who is 
si.x feet seven inches, and is one of a family of eleven chil- 
dren, none of whom are under six feet. Henry resides at 
San Andreas and follows teaming. 

Nevada County's tallest citizen is William G. Shand, who 
is six feet six and a half inches high, and weighs 200 pounds. 
He resides at Grantville, that county, where he was born 39 
years ago. He has a running mate by the name of Herman 
W. Brand, who is six feet four inches high. Both are 
members of Parlor 56, N. S. G. W. 

Santa Barbara County has a young man by the name of 
John Willis, who has to duck his head every time he passes 
through a door. His mother is six feet tall, and his three 



uncles are all over six feet. John's height is six feet five 
and three-quarters inches, and he hasn't quit growing. 

Sutter County's tallest man is "Uncle" Richard Barnett, 
who is six feet five and a quarter inches high. He is a 
native of Spencer County, Indiana, and came to California 
in 1864. 

San Mateo County has a boy who resides at Redwood 
City. His name is Thomas W. Horn, and he is six feet 
five inches high, and weighs 210 pounds. His father is also 
a large man, six feet high, and is the proprietor of a hotel 
in Redwood City. 



LIVERMORE CREAMERY. 



Among the enterprises in which Livermore is interested, 
and which are spurring it on to greater effoits for self- 
improvement, are the prospective opening of the coal mines, 
the building of the Corral Hollow road, development of 
water supply and electric power. Recently a creamery was 
erected at Livermore largely on the cooperative plan, in the 
success of w hich the citizens are taking a great deal of inter- 
est. The plant cost $4,100. It is fitted with a ten-horse 
power engine and a steam separator that makes 8,000 revo- 
lutions per minute. The tank churn has a capacity of 400 
gallons. The plant started up on March 16, with less than 
950 pounds of milk daily, and steadily increased, until it is 
taking at present about 4,000 pounds. The creamery takes 
milk and turns it into butter at a charge of 3j5^ cents per 
pound. The farmers take the milk after the cream is sep- 
arated, and use it with a little bran to feed calves. The 
milk residuum is about 85 per cent, and the calves flourish 
on it. Nothing is wasted, as the buttermilk is sold for hogs 
at 20 cents per hundred pounds. One result of the starting 
up of the creamery has been a desire to improve the grade 
of cattle, and N. D. Dutcher is starting a herd of thorough- 
bred jerseys. 



DISPOSING OF THE PULP. 



An interesting feature of the management of the beet- 
sugar works at Alvarado, has been the disposition of the 
pulp after the sugar has been extracted. The company has 
a dairy ranch, which it leases to parties who keep 150 head 
of cows, but this number of animals can devour only a frac- 
tion of the immense quantity of the pulp produced, and an 
effort has been made to sell the residue. Farmers are gen- 
erally not informed about the value of the pulp of the beet 
for cattle food, and have been slow to recognize it, e^'en at 
the low figure of 50 cents per ton. The company has been 
giving away the material to any dairymen who would go 
for it, and the manager states that he has seen as many as 
twenty-six farmers' wagons in line at 6 o' clock in the morn- 
ing, waiting for their turn to pass under the chute and obtain 
a load. 



OAKLAND. 



X. T\ 



HOU rose-land! Oakland! thou, mine own! 

Thou sun-land ! leaf-land ! land of seas 
Wide crescented in walls of stone! 

Thy lion's mane is to the breeze ! 
Thy tawny, sunlit lion steeps 
Leap forward, as the lion leaps ! 

And thou, the lion's whelp, begot 

Of Argonauts, in fearful strength 
And supple beauty yieldeth naught! 

Thine arm is as a river's leneth. 
Thy reach is foremost ! Thou shalt be 
The throned queen of this vast west sea! 

Yet here sits peace ; and rest sits here ; 

These wide-boughed oaks, they house wise men: 
The student and the sage austere, 

The men of wondrous thought and ken. 
Here men of God in holy guise 
Invoke the peace of paradise. 

Be this my home till some fair star 

Stoops earthward and shall beckon me ; 

For surely Godland lies not far 

From these Greek heights and this great sea. 

My friend, my lover, trend this way ; 

Not far along lies Arcady. 

— yoaqtiin Miller. 



(3^^ 



OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. 



The city of Oakland with its environments is the second 
city in the state. 

Population proper, 60,000; environments, 35,000; yearly 
increase, 4,000; total, 95,000. 

It is situated directly opposite San Francisco, on the 
eastern shore or continental side of the bay. Distance from 



a 5-cent rate for a ride of eight miles. The steamer ride 
across the bay affords a most picturesque view of Amer- 
ica's matchless harbor. Oakland is the actual terminus of 
the transcontinental railway, and the only way overland 
passengers can reach San Francisco is by "boating" it 
from Oakland. 




? *...:^^ ^^kii^ ^ 

Noblest Koman. 

city to city, eight miles. Trains and ferry-boats make con- Freight and passenger service are separate. The passen- 

necting trips, one every fifteen minutes. Time across, ger boats carry from 2.000 to 4,000 persons each, 

thirty minutes. The number of passengers carried daily is about 20,000. 

FERRY TRAINS. The yearly increase of this traffic since 1873, is as follows: — 

These penetrate the residence and business portions of 'H^ 2,067,000 passengers 

'^ , ' 18S0 5,coo,ooo 

Oakland, carrying passengers on cars and across the bay 1885 8,000,000 " 

for ten cents a single trip. 'f^o n,ooo,ooo ;' 

f ^ 189s 12,555,000 ' 

Commutation tickets are sold at $3.00 per month, or at 1896 (estimated) 14,000,000 " 

(35) 



36 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



A full page appears in this book relative to Oakland as a 
railroad center, but reference here is made to the ' 'official 
report of the internal commerce of the United States, ' ' at 
page 178, as follows: "Oakland is in fact a great railroad 
center — the system which penetrates, there being local, 
suburban, state, coast, and transcontinental." Over 300 
trains arrive and depart every 24 hours. 

OAKLAND HARBOR. 

Brief mention is made here, for the reason that this sub- 
ject is handled in another part of this book, in a masterly 
manner, by L. J. Le Conte, U. S. Civil Engineer. On the 
south side of the city stretches the only east side harbor — 
an arm of the bay. The gOA'ernment is now improving this 
harbor, and has already expended $1,534,000, and will 
expend $990,000 more before it is completed. Time 
required, about two years. 

In 1874, the freight traffic amounted to only 154,300 
tons. In 1888, 2,590,000 tons. The traffic now amounts 
to more than 3,000,000 tons annually. 

ELECTRIC RAILRO.\DS. 

These are reaching out in every direction, city, suburban, 
and cross town, with a present trackage of 150 miles, with 
a prospect of doubling within the present year. There are 
10 miles of cable road in the city; any fare with transfers, 5 
cents. Steam trains from eastern to western city limits, 5 
miles. No charge within city limits allowed by law. 

RESOURCES, WEALTH, ETC. 

The taxable base of real estate alone in the city, is $42,- 
000,000; personal property, $4,000,000. One dollar on 
the $100 is the charter limit of the city tax. There are 150 
miles of sewers in the city, and more than 100 miles of 
macadamized and bituminized streets. 

MANUFACTORIES. 

There are 98 of these, giving employment to 5,000 per- 
sons, including cotton mills, nail works, iron works, fruit- 
packing establishments, carriage factories, piano factories, 
flour mills, planing mills, potteries, shirt factories, tanner- 
ies, boUer works, paint works, boot and shoe factories, sash 
and door factories, brass works, jute mills, railroad shops, 
glass works, etc. , etc. There are seven banks, with capital 
stock paid in of $1,604,000; deposits, $10,513,530. 

"ATHENS OF THE PACIFIC." 

Because of educational and geographical resemblance, 
Oakland is called the "Athens of the Pacific." To the 
west lie the bay and island, like the Grecian Archipelago; 
eastward rise the slope and coast range foot-hills, of the same 
height and appearance as those of Athens. This slope 
rises gently from the bay shore. At from 3 to 7 miles 
inland, it rises into undulating foot-hills from 50 to 500 feet 
high. No view surpasses that here presented, facing as it 
does the bay and Golden Gate. 



SCHOOLS OF OAKLAND. 

Primary and Grammar Department:— 

Number of schools j, 

" " day teachers jgg 

'' " special teachers 6 

" "pupils 7,:65 

Average daily attendance 6,670 

Evening Schools: — 

Number schools 5 

" teachers 10 

" pupils 296 

Average daily attendance 216 

High School: — 

Number regular teachers 20 

" special " 6 

" pupils 840 

Average daily attendance 799 

Yearly Cost: — 

Grammar and primary schools $225,000 

High School 47,000 

Total Ji272,ooo 

Value of School Property: — 

High School 1170,000 

Grammar and primary 900,000 

Private Schools: — 

There are several of these, with an average 

attendance of. 4,000 

Four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) in bonds are 
now being expended to enlarge the common and high 
school facilities, now rivaling the very best in any land. 

California had the benefit of the experience of ether 
states, and has leaped to the educational vanguard at once. 
The State University, with an endowment of $5,000,000, lies 
at the extreme north end of the city, at Berkeley. Distance 
from the center of Oakland, 3 miles. Number of students, 
1,300. Oakland has 66 churches, with a membership of 
18,000. 

SOCIETIES. 

Oakland is blessed with as many social, fraternal, mu- 
sical and art societies, as any other city of equal size in the 
world. 

CLIMATE. 

Fresh, cool ocean atmosphere, with no harsh winds. 
Why? — Because west of San Francisco rises a range of hills 
400 feet high; east of Oakland, a range at its summit from 
700 to 900 feet high. This pitches the summer trade winds 
of the ocean upward, as they pass over Oakland, and to a 
height of (say) 900 feet. Oakland, cool, shaded, and 
fanned, but never wind-swept, lies in the triangle of repose, 
on the slope east of the bay, west of its own hills, and under 
the cloud-bearing trade-winds of summer. There is more 
difference between the San Francisco and Oakland climate 
than would be found in 500 miles travel in the Mississippi 
Valley. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



37 



OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS OF ALAMEDA 
COUNTY. 



ALAMEDA. 

J. C. Boatman, private secretary to Congressman Hilborn, 
calls attention to the fact that the appropriation of $100,000 
for a post-office building for Alameda had been approved 
and recommended by both the sub-committee and the full 
committee on public buildings of the lower House of Con- 
gress. Alameda, therefore, feels quite elated on the chances 
of the appropriation being put through and the building 
being erected. 

The statement that Congressman Hilborn made before 
the Congressional Committee, as forwarded to a local paper 
by Mr. Boatman, is as follows: — 

The city of Alameda is located on a peninsula five miles long 
and one mile wide, opposite San Francisco, with theSan Francisco 
Bay on one side and the Oakland Estuary on the other. 

It is regarded as one of the most beautiful and perfectly arranged 
cities of its class in the United States. There are more than fifty 
miles of macadamized streets and seventy-five miles of patent 
stone sidewalks. 

On account of the singular beauty of its location, its magnificent 
climate and wealth of flowers, Alameda is the favorite residence 
spot of San Francisco business and professional men, who have 
adorned it with sightly residences and captivating lawns. 

In 1870 the population of Alameda was 1,557; in 1S80, 5,708; in 
1890, 11,165; and since that time there has been an unprecedented 
increase, owing to the public spirit that has been manifested, so 
that at the present time, as shown by the school census and other 
reliable sources, there can be no less than 17,000 inhabitants. 

Alameda has a complete system of sewerage, constructed on the 
Wareing plan, which permits of automatic flushing of the pipes as 
often as three or four times every twenty-four hours, thus keep- 
ing them thoroughly cleansed of all sediment and decayed matter. 

The assessed valuation of all taxable property, as shown by the 
official returns, exceeds the sum of $12,000,000. 

The city has five graded public schools, of eight rooms each, 
and a high school attended by over 500 pupils. 

The valuation of the public school property amounts to I325,- 
000. 

A very desirable site is being reserved for a free library, on 
which it is intended at an early date to erect a building worth 
$25,000. 

The city has an artesian water system that cost $500,000 and an 
inexhaustible supply of pure, clear water. 

Alameda has a paid fire department of five companies, splendidly 
housed and well equipped. 

A new city hall has recently been erected, at a cost of $50,000, 
on a lot valued on a low estimate at $40,000. 

The city owns its electric light service, embracing both the arc 
and incandescent systems. 

Two lines of the steam railroads enter and traverse the entire 
length of the city, connecting with two ferry lines, giving excellent 
ferry service to San Francisco. 

Three daily papers are published in Alameda, having large 
circulations and much influence. 

The principal industries embrace siiip-building and petroleum 
and borax refining. 

The gross receipts of the Alameda post-office for the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1S95, were $16,516.63, the amount paid for rent, 
$392, and the net receipts were $5:855.17. 



BERKELEY. 

Berkeley, the seat of the University of California, pos- 
sesses a municipal individuality of its own, notwithstanding 
its close proxmity to Oakland. The distance from center to 
center of the two cities is about five miles, while the inter- 
mediate territory comprises the towns of Temescal, with 
3,000 population; Emeryville, 400 population; Golden Gate, 
1,200 population; Lorin and Peralta, 900 population; Clare- 
mont, 350 population, and Piedmont, 900 population. 
Berkeley has, according to the school census, between 
11,000 and 12,000 population. 

VIEW FROM BERKELEY. 

Standing near the State University one may get a view 
equal to the fervent imagination of an Angelo, Raphael, or 
Titian. At an elevation of several hundred feet the Pacific 
Ocean is seen through the majestic Golden Gate. Alcatraz 
Island, the military guardian of the grandest harbor on 
earth, lies to the left, while back and behind it Goat Island 
rests, over which is seen the city of San Francisco, at a 
distance of eight miles. Looking southward, Oakland and 
Alameda are seen in all their panoramic grandeur, while 
beyond them for miles and miles stretch the waters of the 
bay, over which glide huge vessels from every port on the 
globe. 

THE state university. 

Nesthng amid the green foliage of countless trees, stands 
the pride of California — the State University. There are 
several immense structures within easy distance of each 
other that comprise the University as a whole. In ' 'college 
season" 1,200 young men and young women are settled in 
these several buildings, receiving their education. The 
branches taught are the same as those of Yale, Harvard, 
Princeton, and all the best colleges of the world. 

graduates. 

Since 1869, when the University was first opened, the 
graduates have been as follows: — 

Academic department i,oS6 

Medicine " 423 

Dental " 223 

Pharmacy " 318 

Total 2,050 

LIBRARY. 

Number of volumes 65,000 

" " periodicals and journals 400 • 

TEACHERS. 

Total number teachers and professors 167 

Total yearly salary of same $229,374 12 

financial basis. 

The University has property valued at $4,751,564 

Real estate and improvements 2,240,000 

Perpetual Endowment Fund 1,711,764 

Personal gifts 799,800 

Total $9,503,128 



38 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 




The Livermore Sanitarium. 



The University receives for its support from tlie state all 
that I cent on every $ioo of the taxable value of property 
in the state will realize. Present assessed value of the state is 
$1,200,000,000. Its income from this source increases 
every year as the assessment rolls increase, as the following 
figures will show for 10 years: — 

1887-88 % 76,580 

1S88-89 93,48s 

1889-90 101,205 

1890-91 102,434 

1891-92 115,575 

1S92-93 118,123 

1893-94 119,830 

1894-95 120,126 

1895-96 122,000 

A RESIDENCE CITY. 

Berkeley is growing rapidly. New dwellings are con- 
stantly going up. Wealthy parents from all sections of 
the state are locating there in consequence of the splendid 
educational advantages afforded their children. Land is com- 
paratively cheap at Berkeley, and may be had at small pay- 
ments and on long time. As a ' 'home site' ' Berkeley can 
not be excelled in the whole state of California. The climate 

is always good — none better in the world. 

• 

LIVERMORE. 

This town is located in the valley of the same name, in 
the southeastern part of the county. The population is 
about 1 , 500. The Livermore Valley is 500 feet above tide- 
water and is therefore a very healthful section. The town of 
Livermore is in the center of this va!!e)% and, in addition to 
being the nearest trading point, is also a splendid residence 
place. Many public improvements have been made there 



within the past few months. The soil of the valley is 
adapted to every kind of fruit and nuts. 

HAYWARDS. 

Haywards, 16 miles from Oakland, is reached by the 
Southern Pacific Railroad and the Haywards electric line. 
The town has 2,500 population, and is growing constantly. 
Several manufacturing enterprises are carried on there. It 
is also a great fruit-shipping point. 

SAN LEANDRO. 

This is also a great fruit-shipping town. It is right in the 
heart of the fruit section, and hundreds of persons have grown 
rich in that vicinity from fruit alone. Daniel Best employs 
140 men in his machine shop at this place. Two railroads 
reach the place from Oakland — distance 8 miles. 

SAN LORENZO. 

While this is a small town of but a few hundred inhabit 
ants, it is a good trading point. The town is surrounded 
by hundreds of small fruit ranches, the owners of which have 
all become rich raising fruit. 

NILES. 

This town has 1,000 population. The railroad brancnes 
at this place — one line to San Jose, the other to Stockton and 
San Joaquin Valley points. The great California Nursery 
is located here, an institution chat supplies the \\'hole Pacific 
Coast with every kind of fruit tree known. 

NEWARK 

is but a short distance from Niles, and is reached by street- 
cars from Centerville, and from Oakland by the narrow-gauge 
railway. This is quite a manufacturing town. Several 
foundries are located here, as well as the car shops of the 
railroad company. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



39 



CENTERVILLE 

is a good trading point — a beautiful residence town, sur- 
rounded by splendid farms and prolific orchards. Popu- 
lation, 400. 

PI-EASANTON. 

This town contains 1,000 population, is 34 miles from 
Oakland, and is located at the north end of Livermore Valley. 
The sugar beet industry prevails at this place. 

ALVARADO. 

This is also a sugar beet section — the site of the Alvarado 
Sugar Refinery, the field of innumerable salt beds, and 
the source of the water supplied by the Oakland Water 
Company to the city of Oakland. Two immense artesian 
wells have been sunk here, the capacity of which is mentioned 
elsewhere in this book. The immense engines of the com- 
pany, and the pumps, together with all the necessary 
machinery of the company's plant, are also located here. 
Distance from Oakland, si.xteen miles, connected by rail- 
road — four passenger trains to the city daily. 

IRVINGTON. 

This is a beautiful place, surrounded by orchards, vine- 



yards, and farms. Curtner's Female College is located here. 
One of the largest grain warehouses in the state has been 
erected at this point. 

MISSION SAN JOSE. 

This place was settled by Catholic fathers 100 years ago. 
Taken as a whole, this section is the richest in the country. 
Olives, oranges, lemons, French prunes, and wine grapes 
grow here to perfection. Distance from Oakland, twenty- 
seven miles — two miles from railroad. 

WARM SPRINGS. 

A town of this name — three miles from Mission San Jose, 
four miles from Irvington on the railroad — is located in the 
best farming district of the country. Mr. Stanford's article 
tells what is raised here. 

SUXOL. 

This is a summer resort in the hills, at the mouth of 
a canyon. Beautiful scenery — splendid fishing — just the 
place for an "outing." There are several other minor 
towns in the county — all accessible by rail or good roads. 




less ^^-i"^-^ ' •;^-^' * ■ ^■-'^ ■'',^^^^^^-- ''''^"^~ 



m 



t%2Mi*^':^'\. -y^^.:c^ 






l-i"--^" ?>-:;. •■''>: 




J^. 



*-./^ 



L '«p- 






nissioD ban Jose. 



40 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



LINDA VISTA. 



Within a few minutes' drive from the quaint and histor- 
ical old Mission San Jose, in the center of Alameda County, 
is that beautiful place, the far-famed "Linda Vista," the 
home of C. C. Mclver. Some years ago Mr. Mclver, a 
wealthy eastern gentleman, came to California for the pur- 
pose of engaging in the culture of high-grade wines, and 
after a thorough and exhaustive investigation of the merits 
of various sections of the state, pronounced in favor of 
the superiority of Alameda County, and purchased the old 
Parker vineyard. 

In order that the very best results might be obtained, he 
dug up the old vines, and planted in their stead other varie- 



the date, the olive, the fig, the palm, the pomegranate, and 
the magnificent banana, all growing in their effulgence, and 
making a picture that once seen will never be forgotten. 

The lesson we learn is not so much ivhat has been done 
as what can be done. 

We turn from this beautiful picture, but it will not turn 
from us. We carry it away in our vision, and wonder why- 
there are not more "Linda Vistas" than there are. 

It is true there are other places in the country that vie 
with "Linda Vista," but there are not as many as there 
ought to be. Nowhere in the world, we believe, has nature 
been more lavish in her gifts than here; and every one who 
owns a half acre of ground can have a little paradise, with but 
little effort or expense; and he who owns a twenty-five-foot- 
front lot, can have a home fit for a prince. 



"^ 




Residence of C. C. Mclver, Mission San Jose. 



ties of acknowledged superiority, imported directly from 
Europe, for the purpose of producing certain desired types 
of wine that have achieved fame both in Europe and Amer- 
ica. He added largely to his acreage, until his holdings 
amount to over i,ooo acres, and his success in producing 
wines of a high grade is too well established to require com- 
ment. His wines have achieved an enviable reputation, that 
adds new laurels to Alameda County. Not only has he 
won well-merited success in his wines, but he has trans- 
formed the old homestead into a veritable paradise. 

From the entrance leading up to the house, you pass 
through a cypress alameda that is awe-inspiring in its magnif- 
icence; but the view that breaks upon the vision when you 
reach the end of the alameda, would inspire the stoic, and 
cause an exclamation of admiration from him who least appre- 
ciates the beauties of nature. It is here you see the broad 
and veh'ety lawn surmounted by the lemon, the orange. 



WEATHER BUREAU SERVICE. 



Neither the government nor the state has ever found it 
necessary to establish a weather bureau in Alameda County. 
The climate here being about one and the same thing the 
year around, a weather bureau would be nothing more than 
an expensive luxury. 

FLOWERS. 



When is the best time to pick flowers in Alameda 
County? 

Answer — Between 6 a. m. and 6 p. m. any day in the year. 

What are the best kinds to choose from? 

A. — Take your choice out of a thousand varieties and 
you'll hit it every time. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



41 



COST OF LIVING. 



BY GEO. L. FISH. 
[Ex-President of the Merchants' Exchange.] 



The cost of living in Alameda County will compare favor- 
ably with any other locality in America. Prices vary here, 
as they do elsewhere, according to supply and demand. 
Staple articles average in price with eastern markets. A 
iaw quotations will suffice : — • 



Coffee (Java roasted), per lb %o 25 

Flour, per bbl 3 25 

Graham, per bbl 3 00 

Mustard, i doz. qt. botttles 2 00 

Salt, per lb 01 

Tomatoes, per doz. gal. cans 2 00 

Tomatoes, per doz. qt. cans 60 

Sugar, extra C, per lb 04J 

Dry granulated 05J 

Tea .15c to 50 

Vinegar, per gal 08 

Royal Baking Powder, per lb 45 

Raisins, per lb 04 




Palms at C. C. ndver's, nission San Jose. 



Butter, per pound |o 16 

Pickle butter 12J 

Apricots, per doz. cans 100 

Cherries, per doz. cans i 50 

Com, per doz. cans i 00 

Blackberries, per doz. cans i 50 

Peaches, per doz. cans i 25 

Peas, per doz. cans i 25 

Plums, per doz. cans i 10 

Olive oil, per doz. bottles 6 00 

Coal oil, per gal 15 

Com starch, per lb 05 

Com meal, per lb 02 

Beans, Lima, per lb 03 

Codfish, per lb 04 



Rice, per lb $0 04 

Syrup, per gal 15c to 30 

The above are the retail prices averaged for the year. 

FISH. 

Oakland, lying as it does on tide-water, is supplied daily 
with forty or more varieties of fresh fish, which sell at prices 
below those of New York, or any Atlantic harbor. 

VEGETABLES. 

By virtue of the fact that Alameda County is one of the 
most prolific vegetable yielding spots on the Pacific Coast 
— if not in the world — it goes without saying that the prices 



42 



ALAMEDA COUXTY. 



must necessarily be verj- low. Something like fifty differ- 
ent varieties of vegetables are raised in this county. There 
seems to be no particular vegetable season in this county, 
for the reason that fresh vegetables of some variety are 
marketed here daily. 

PRICES OF FRUIT. 

Since everj-kind of fruit that is known grows in Alameda 
County, and is marketed daily as it ripens, it is hard to set- 
tle upon an average of prices. Fruit is always cheaper to 
the consumer here than it is elsewhere, notwithstanding the 
fact that many producers have grown rich shipping it. The 
value to the producer comes from the immense quantities 
grown on a given spot. As to the quality of our fruit, the 
whole world can not beat it. 



may rest assured of being able to save more money in the 
cost of living here than can be truthfully said of any other 
city of equal size west of Chicago. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Eastern cities have high and low price theaters and con- 
cert halls; so has Oakland. Carriage hire is as low priced 
here as anywhere, and the splendid roads leading to the 
country are unexcelled. There are numerous places in the 
country to spend the sabbath, or if a ride on the water is 
preferable, no finer body of water exists than the harbor of 
Oakland. 

LAKE MERRITT. 

If one does not care to ride on the water of the bay, then 
a row-boat on Lake Merritt will be just the thing. This is 




Lake Merritt. 



HOUSE RENT. 

Cottages of from three to four rooms can be had for$S.oo 
and $10, while five to seven room cottages come higher. 
Taken as a whole, no city on the Pacific Coast has finer 
residences or lower rents than Oakland. The same rule 
applies to other cities and towns in Alameda County. 

CLOTHING. 

The competition in clothing and the low prices of wool 
have reduced the price of clothing within reach of all. 
When suits of men's clothing may be had for $2.75 up, it 
is a waste of words to argue the case. 

MECHANICS. 

Oakland will soon be the largest manufacturing city on 
the Pacific Coast — if it is not already so — and mechanics 



a body of water right in the heart of the city, and boat 
riding on it is largely indulged in by thousands of persons. 
Boats may be had for twenty-fi\'e cents per hour. 



ELECTRIC CARS. 

Oakland is blessed with 150 miles of cable and electric 
car tracks. Some of these extend a distance of 18 or 20 
miles into the country, and the price of the journey is from 
5 cents to 30 cents, according to the distance. 

FUEL SUPPLY. 

Within a few miles of Oakland are beds of coal that 
appear to be inexhaustible. A railroad has been built into 
the mines, and hundreds of tons of coal are hauled away 
dail)-. Knowing ones predict that the coal will soon be 
marketed here at $2.50 per ton. This means a great deal 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



43 



to Oakland as a manufacturing- center. It means also that 
ocean vessels will get their supplies at our docks. It means 
another great industry to be added to our already large list. 
Three thousand (3,000) men are now at work in the mines 
near here, and thus weekly wages will give additional 
stimulus to trade. 

Coal oil has been found in the foot-hills, and that means 
another industry. Gas beds exist just over the hills, within 
eight miles of the city, and that means another industry. 
The Merchants' Exchange of Oakland will see to it that a 
road is built into this oil and gas belt immediately. 

CONCLUSION. 

All in all, the expense of living in Oakland is as low as it 
is anywhere else, to say nothing of the grandeur of scenery, 
and the delightfulness of the climate. It never is necessary 
to lose any time or to spend any money going to the moun- 
tains or the seashore. Both are here and may be seen for 
the cost of looking. Five cents a day will carry your chil- 
dren to and from the University of California. It is cheaper 
still if they wish to attend the public schools of the "Athens 
of the Pacific;" for walking is always good in Oakland, 
whether it is spring, summer, autumn, or winter. "Sea- 
sons' ' cut no figure in the parlor city of the west, for May 
and December look enough alike to be called twins. 



CLIMATE AND AIR MOVEMENTS OF ALA- 
MEDA COUNTY. 



BY HON. W.M. R. DAVIS. 



Few residents and no strangers realize how it is that 
Oakland, on the east side of the Bay of San Francisco, has 
such an equable and delightful climate, in contrast with that 
of the San Francisco or west side, only eight miles distant. 
The accompanying diagram and explanation will make that 
fact clear. It is not only a fact, but the fact is demonstrable. 
From Oakland westward across the bay and peninsula to 
the edge of the Pacific Ocean is about fourteen miles. 

The first row of coast hills rises directly from the ocean 
shore. Their average height south of the Golden Gate is 
about five hundred feet, and north of it, about one thousand 
feet. The Golden Gate itself is a pass through this first rise 
in the Coast Range, and is about six miles long and from 
one to two miles wide, thus connecting the ocean and the 
Bay of .San Francisco. 

At the inner or eastern end of the Golden Gate the 
western shore line of the bay turns northwestward and 
southeastward substantially parallel with the ocean shore 
line, San Francisco being between the ocean and bay on 
the northeastern corner of the peninsula, south of the 
Golden Gate. 

Oakland is almost due east across the bay from San 
Francisco. From Oakland westward the width of the bay 
and of this peninsula are practically equal, six to seven miles 
each. 



On the Oakland side the land rises from the bay-level on 
a gentle slope extending back to the second row of Coast 
Range hills. This slope extends from Berkeley on the 
north (a town of 12,000 inhabitants, where the University of 
California is situated) down in a southeasterly direction a 
distance of thirty-five miles, to and beyond the Alameda 
county line. The width of this slope varies from three 
miles at the northern end to more than twice that width as 
it stretches southward. At Oakland its width is about five 
miles. The central and western portion of Oakland is from 
twenty to forty-five feet above the tide-level of the bay. 
The eastern and northern parts of the city are upon the first 
rises of the foot-hills on the east — beautiful rolling ground. 

The two rows of coast hills, one west and the other east of 



Xputt. of cSC'^ &f^L7£ ^T 0«)KJ-Pj/SD CiJ^i. 




the bay, run nearly parallel from southeast to northwest, 
both lying at right angles to the route of the summer trade- 
winds coming in from the southwest oflf the Pacific Ocean. 
These summer sea-breezes, or trade-winds, prevail annually 
from the latter part of May to the middle of September, 
passing from the southwest to the northeast, from the ocean 
across the edge of the continent. 

We are now ready to consider a fact the importance of 
which can not be overestimated. Look at the diagram. 
The large arrows show the course of the summer sea- 
breezes. The profile at the bottom of the diagram shows a 
cross-section of the two ranges of hills, the obstnictions 
which the sea-breezes encounter in their northeasterly 
course. 

As is well known, these sea-breezes are sucked inland- 
ward daily by the draft caused by the upward rising of the 
atmosphere from the sun-heated surface of the land lying 



44 



ALAMEDA CO UNTY. 



inland from the ocean, from one hundred to five hundred 
miles distant, the cooler air of the ocean rushing in land- 
ward to fill the vacancy caused by the rising hot air. Let 
us look to the arrows on the diagram. Commencing at the 
ocean, the landward-bound ocean breeze, bearing much or 
litrie fog, literally bumps against and pitches above the first 
row of coast hills. This throws the volume of the general 
breeze four hundred to eight hundred feet above sea-level 
in its flight inland. It has then only from ten to fourteen 
miles to go until it encounters the second row of coast hills. 
This second row is of 
greater height than the 
first. The result and 
the fact are that the 
general ocean breeze 
can not and does not 
descend in its course 
anywhere between these 
two parallel rows of 
hills. Being pitched 
up by range No. i, it 
bears its moisture and 
maintains its course 
over the top of range 
No. 2, just skimming 
that range as it passes 
on into the interior. 
This leaves Oakland 
and the slope of which 
I have spoken in an 
angle of repose, on the 
slope between the bay 
and the eastern foot- 
hills, far beneath the 
path of the trade- winds, 
which have thus been 
pitched up and are pass- 
ing over both rows of 
the Coast Range. 

In this angle of re- 
pose the air is free from 
fog, moving gently 
eastward with just 
enough motion, brac- 
ing coolness and re- 
freshment to make the temperature delightful and the at- 
mosphere healthful and bracing. No sanitary department 
can ever do for any other city what nature is steadily doing 
in this way for the city of Oakland. The fog clouds pass 
over Oakland at an elevation of from fi\'e hundred to two 
thousand feet. This is nature' s umbrella, catching the rays 
of the summer sun and casting cool and grateful shade on 
the land surface below, while it leaves that surface free from 
dampness and from being windswept. Oakland occupies 
another angle of repose. Through the opening of the 
Golden Gate this sea-breeze can and does come in on the 




Our Mariposa Lily 



water-level; but, by reason of the conformation of the inside 
hills, this tongue of wind becomes forked, one part continu- 
ing northeast across San Pablo and Suisun Bays, still on the 
water-level, and the other southeast down the surface of the 
Bay of San Francisco. 

The small arrows show the forking and course of this 
lesser current, the larger arrows marking the course of the 
general volume of the overhead sea-breeze. This forking 
of the sea-breeze coming through the Golden Gate on the 
water-level again leaves Oakland in a triangle of repose. 

These facts and the 
preceding diagram 
demonstrate plainly 
why it is that the cli- 
mate and temperature 
of Oakland, though only 
eight miles distant from 
San Francisco, is as 
different and as much 
milder as though a hun- 
dred miles distant under 
other circumstances. 

There is an interest- 
ing fact following as a 
sort of corollary from 
the foregoing general 
proposition, and that is 
this : Water flowing 
from the rough edge 
of a spout will curl under 
at the under side, the 
main volume of water 
passing over. Precisely 
so with this sea-breeze 
bumping against the 
first row of hills and 
pitching on over it. 
The under side of that 
current or sheet of air, 
in scraping over the 
irregular top of the 
first row of hills, curls 
under, and thus brings 
down the undercurling 
fog from that general 
fog-bearing trade wind passing overhead. This accounts for 
the fog-clouds being borne from five hundred to one thou- 
sand feet above Oakland, while at the same time a narrow 
sheet of fog curls down on the west side of the bay on the 
peninsula. This curling down and the two triangles of re- 
pose account for the phenomenal fact that Oakland (and 
the whole slope extending from Berkeley to the Santa 
Clara line on the south) has a climate and air at once fresh, 
equable, and balmy, while only five or six miles westward 
the land surface on the other side of the bay is wind-swept 
and the air foggy and chilling. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



45 



The views here given will account for six striking facts: — 

1. Why the sea-breezes of summer bear down on the 
land surface of the peninsula on the west side of the bay. 

2. Why they bring fog down to the surface over there. 

3. Why the waves of the bay run higher on the north- 
easterly extension of the Golden Gate. 

4. Why the strong summer wind maintains itself north- 
easterly across San Pablo and Suisun Bays. 

5. Why Oakland and this slope on the east side of the 
bay are not wind-swept and have no fog down on the land 
surface, not^vithstanding the opposite is the fact on the 
west side of the bay. 

6. Why fogs to the west of us become grateful summer 
clouds above us on this slope which stretches around the 
east side of the bay. 



ROSES IN WINTER. 



An Old Easterner's First Impressions of Alameda 
County — Raspberries in December. 



Oakland, Cal., Dec. 3. — Daniel H. Fisher, of Berlin, 
Pa. , is visiting his relatives in this city, and his impressions 
of California as he found it and as he expected to find it 
would fill a volume. Although Mr. Fisher is father of Dr. 
C. M. Fisher, of the board of health, throughout all his 
long life he has never been outside his native state before. 

"I have heard about California all my life," said Mr. 
Fisher to-day, "and my son and my brother, who was 
superintendent of schools of this county, have written me 
a great deal, but what I have seen just around the bay is a 




Roses in January— Residence of Ben Morgan, Berkeley. 



This favored slope and its environs duplicate the site ot 
Athens. The Athens of the Pacific is an appi-opriate name 
topographically as well as with reference to matters of learn- 
ing and culture. The hills about Athens and the Grecian 
Archipelago before it have their counterpart in our hills 
behind and the waters of our bay before us. The clouds, 
the temperature, the sky, the breeze, the landscape, the 
half-shadowed country, are nature's duplicate of the ancient 
Greece. There is an old Athens and a new. The resem- 
blance is not fancy — it is fact. 



The Pacific Oil Works, on Alameda Point, employ from 
30 to 40 men, and produce 500 barrels daily of naphtha, 
benzine, lubricating, gas and illuminating oils. 



revelation. When I left old Berlin, which is in the Juniata 
River region, it was freezing and snowing, and I was 
actually glad to leave the old place for a time. But ^\■hen I 
got here, I never dreamed of what I should see. People 
who live in the east all their lives and read of roses in bloom 
at Christmas do not really believe it. I did not. I went a 
drive along the San Leandro road a few days ago, and I 
saw the last of the season's crop of raspberries. I did not 
believe such a thing possible, and when I saw the floral 
sights in Golden Gate Park, I was partly incredulous that I 
was actually looking at a natural scene. Now people tell 
me that this weather is really severe for California — that is 
piling it on rather too thickly. 

"I expected to find a great deal of exaggeration among 
California folks, but I think the boot is on the other foot. 



4b 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



I see more real life and progress and more practical ideas 
carried to r. successful conclusion than I ever saw way back 
in Pennsylvania. Over sixty years I have lived at Berlin, 
and have been expecting to come out here some day and 
satisfy myself that a lot I had been told was not true. But 
when I got here I had to confess I had not been told half 
enough. 

"There are tens of thousands of people in the east who 
doubt nearly all they hear of California, but if they would 
just take a trip out here, they would change their minds." 

Then the old easterner said with a sigh, "I suppose I'll 
have to go back soon. 

As Mr. Fisher has returned to Pennsylvania, he will be 
able to verify all that is said in this book of Alameda County 
in general, and Oakland in particular. — 5". F. Call. 



OUR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 



BY A. B. NYE. 
[Editor Oakland Enquirey.\ 



The United States census of 1890 contained the follow- 
ing statistics of manufactures in Oakland: — 

Number of establishments 342 

Value of hired property % 956. 3S5 

Direct investments 6,629,468 

Miscellaneous expenses, 438,010 

Average number of employes 4,438 

Total wages 3.090.007 

Average number of officers, firm members and clerks 520 

Wages of same $521,073 

Operatives, skilled and unskilled 3.345 

Wages of same 12,319,452 

Piece-workers 573 

Wages of same % 249,482 

Cost of materials used 4,687,699 

Value of products '. 9,112,778 

This statement includes only establishments within the 
corporate limits; the amounts would be considerably in- 
creased by including factories within a mile or two of the city. 
Since iSgo numerous small factories have been established, 
and, to exhibit the present state of our manufacturing in- 
dustries, moderate additions would need to be made to the 
above totals, but the exact figures are lacking. 

Taking the census figures as a reasonable approximation 
to the present facts, it is apparent that our manufacturing 
industries, both absolutely and relatively, take very respect- 
able rank. Excepting San Francisco, whose industries of 
this kind are larger, and Portland, Oregon, which is the in- 
dustrial center of the northwest, there is no other Pacific 
Coast city which Oakland does not rival or surpass. Los 
Angeles had in 1890 a considerably larger number of es- 
tablishments enumerated, but the capital invested was about 
the same. Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, and Seatde 
were too far behind to be considered rivals. Comparison 
with a few eastern cities will give a better idea of our rel- 
ative rank in manufactures. 



City. No. establishments. Capital invested. 

Oakland 342 $ 6,629,468 

Lewiston, Me 214 8,324,231 

Nashville, Tenn 420 9,904,295 

Peoria, 111 556 15,085,862 

Portland, Me 662 6,887,557 

Omaha, Neb 675 18,319,594 

Lynn, Mass 1,369 17,919,025 

All of these towns surpass ours in the extent of their 
business, but some of them, like Omaha, are more populous 
cities, and others are famous seats of manutacturing industry. 
Up to this time the business conditions of the Pacific Coast 
have not been favorable to the creation of Lowells, Fall 
Rivers, or Patersons; when the concentration of population 
invites a vigorous growth of manufactures, one of the centers 
will be in Oakland. 

Transportation facilities are the first factor in successful 
prosecution of manufacturing, and a glance at the way in 
which the factories here have clustered around the water 
front, with its shore lines of railroad, explains the first ad- 
vantage which we enjoy. Beginning with the northern 
suburbs, we have in West Berkeley a collection of thrifty 
industries, generally small, but considerable in the aggre- 
gate; they are favorably situated for shipping by rail or 
water. Between Berkeley and the corporate limits of Oak- 
land, following along the bay shore, we have factories of 
various sorts, including one of magnitude, the Judson 
Iron Works, at Emeryville. That was placed there that it 
might enjoy the advantage of having the railroad at its 
front door and the bay at its back door. In West Oakland 
we have iron foundries, wood-working establishments, and 
railroad car shops, and on the south side of the city, front- 
ing on the estuary and the First Street tracks, we ha^•e the 
largest assemblage of shops and mills to be found on this 
side of the bay. That is not merely, or so much, because 
it is the oldest portion of the city, as because the facilities 
for water transportation are the best. In the Twenty-third 
Avenue district, at the head of the estuary, we have another 
village of factories, — potteries, tanneries, planing mills, and 
the thriving California Cotton Mills. On the southern, or 
Alameda shore, we have a number of important establish- 
ments, — an oil refinery, borax refinery, and a great pottery. 
The same water front which will one day make Oakland 
an important shipping port, with docks, basins, and ware- 
houses, will also promote the growth of manufactures here. 
Every factory owner likes to place his business where he 
can, if need be, recei\'e raw materials and ship away finished 
goods by water. The first breach made in the solid wall 
of monopoly which, through an early mistake, was built 
around the water side of the town, was effected when the 
Pacific Iron and Nail Works were established, about 1882; 
the promoters of that enterprise were determined not to 
plant it \\here they could not have water transportation, 
and, although they experienced difficulties in acquiring con- 
trol of a piece of water front, they persevered until they 
succeeded. A water frontage, even if not used, is a good 
regulator of railroad charges. Some years ago the Cali- 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



47 



fornia Cotton Mills were paying rates upon raw cotton 
brought out from Texas, which constituted an onerous tax 
upon the business, and the managers tried tiie experiment 
of bringing in a few cargoes from the East Indies and the 
south sea islands. As soon as it .was demonstrated that 
cotton could be obtained cheaper in this wa}', the Southern 
'Pacific Railroad hastened to make a new rate on cotton, 
which would allow it to be shipped from Te.xas upon much 
better terms. A factory built in some inland town could 
not have brought such pressure to bear upon the railroad, 
and would have continued to pay the higher rates and to do 
business at a disadvantage. 

The next advantage enjoyed by Oakland manufacturers, 
and one of no small importance, is that of cheap sites. It 
is possible at small expense to secure as much ground area 
as may be needed to conduct any business; to arrange 




Orange Tree. 

buildings in such manner as to enjoy the greatest conven- 
ience, and to economize labor by increasing its efficiency. 
In San Francisco which is now the manufacturing center, 
a majority of the establishments are uncomfortably crowded, 
and they can not enlarge except at the expense of a heavy 
rent tax. Having plenty of room is an advantage of greater 
moment than may appear at first thought. The manager 
of an iron works, who has been a successful bidder on con- 
tracts in all parts of the Pacific Coast, considers this the 
greatest advantage which his situation in Oakland affords 
him ; as compared with San Francisco establishments of his 
class, he estimates that he can pay the same wages to labor 
and the same prices for material, and perform work from 
ten to fifteen per cent cheaper, owing to not being in 
cramped quarters or compelled to raise and lower heavy 
weights in a many-storied building. 

Oakland is bounded on two sides by natural manufactur- 
ing sites, the salt marsh adjoining the Sixteenth Street Rail- 
road station, that between the Peralta Street slip and Market 
Street, and the very large extent of marsh on the Alameda 



side, making, when filled, ideal sites for factories. Of the 
many hundreds of acres of marsh on the two sides of the 
estuary, fully one-half has now been filled by the harbor 
dredgings, and before the government's work is finished, 
there will be material enough available to make dry ground 
of the whole area. This land will not be in demand as 
residence property, and therefore it will constitute, as has 
been said, a reservation for manufacturing sites; and the ex- 
tent of the tracts is such that many cheap sites, in close 
proximity to ship and car, will be obtainable for years to 
come. Drayage, which is a large item of expense in estab- 
lishments on the other side of the bay, can here be either 
materially reduced or quite abolished, depending upon how 
close the shop is brought to the railroad. There is no 
reason why these future manufacturing districts, now given 
up to partially filled marshes on the western and southern 
sides of the city, should not be traversed in every direction 
by spur tracks, so that each of several hundred factories 
can have its own siding, leading into its warehouse. Even 
if San Francisco continues to do the office business, Oak- 
land is on the right side of the bay to build the shop. Time 
and expense can be sa\ed. To workingmen it is an 
advantage to be employed in Oakland rather than in the 
metropolis, because living is cheaper and social conditions 
more agreeable. An intelligent labor force is a need which 
is therefore easily supplied, and strikes and lock-outs have 
been of rare occurrence. As compared with cities in the 
hot interior valleys, our climate — pleasantly cool all the 
year around — has an economic value, because in it the 
workman can perform a greater amount of labor than he 
can where the extremes of either heat or cold prevail. 

Whenever manufacturing investments in Oakland have 
been unsuccessful, as they sometimes have been, they 
merely shared the vicissitudes which have made the history 
of this industry upon the Pacific Coast a checkered one. At 
the present time, which is one of some depression in all 
lines of business, the local factories are in as solidly solvent 
condition as any of their class anywhere. It is generally 
agreed that in competing for outside business, which they 
do to a large extent, the increasing reputation which our 
city is acquiring makes the introduction of their products 
constantly more easy. 

The proprietor of a leading planing mill, when speaking 
on this subject, said that seventy-five per cent of his business 
and that of other mills comes from San Francisco and other 
places more distant; that a few )-ears ago such business could 
be secured only with difficulty, because architects and 
managers of corporations distrusted the ability of Oakland 
mills to do good work ; that now their reputation is of the 
best, and that Oakland-built street-cars and house materials 
of all sorts are in demand far and near. The machine-made 
work for many of the finest residences in San Francisco is 
turned out in Oakland. 

The proprietor of an extensive iron foundry and machine 
shop stated that the proportion of his work which is turned 
out for the strictly local demand varied from five to fifteen 



48 



ALAMEDA CO UXTY. 



per cent. This fact is mentioned to show that Oakland 
manufacturing establishments are by no means merely small 
concerns for the satisfaction of a local demand. They go 
into all the Pacific Coast markets, and sometimes as far east- 
ward as Colorado and Dakota. 

One of the obstacles with which California manufacturers 
have had to contend is the high price of fuel; coal at $6.00 
a ton is a heavy ta.x when factories must compete with 
Pennsylvania or Indiana, where the price is $1-50 or $2.00. 
But the light is now breaking; relief from excessive fuel 
prices is promised by the transmission of power from moun- 
tain streams, by the development of oil fields, and finally by 
the opening of immense coal deposits in the Coast Range 
near Livermore. This coal is a good steam producer, and 
the only questions are cheap extraction and transportation. 
These are about to be solved, and when manufacturers can 
buy therr coal for $3.00 per ton, no city -will derive more 
advantage than ours. A direct line of railroad from Oak- 
land to these mines is merely a matter of time — apparendy 
of a few months. It Is only about forty miles to the largest 
coal deposits in the state, and this is the natural point of 
shipment. Of the abundance of the stores of fuel in these 
mines no doubt can be raised. Last year a committee of 
the Manufacturers' and Producers' Association of San Fran- 
cisco, visited the Livermore mines, and in their report they 
said: — 

' 'The inspection left no doubt in our minds of the immense 
quantity of available coal, and we are not disposed to question 
the engineer's estimate of 20,000,000 tons. . . . They 
(the managers of the mines) also say they will be able to 
mine, with proposed facilities, 2,000 tons per day, and to 
market the same in San Francisco for $2.00 per ton, and 
maintain a selling price not to exceed $3.00 and $3.50 per 
ton, based on handling coal over their own railroad to tide- 
water and thence in steel barges to San Francisco or accessi- 
ble river points. . . . San Francisco can hardly hope 
for cheap coal from any source but these mines, on account 
of the distance between the city and other coal fields." 

If) when the coal is shipped via Stockton and the river 
route, as the foregoing statement contemplates, it can be 
sold in market for $3.00 to $3.50 per ton, a direct railroad 
line to this city would make it possible to sell with profit at 
even lower figures. Another project which has been con- 
templated, and whose execution is by no means improbable, 
is the establishment of a power plant at the mines, the 
generation of electricity, and its transmission by wire. This 
is perfecdy practicable, and it might result in giving us the 
equivalent of coal at $2.00 a ton, or even $1.50. 

An article upon the industrial prospects of the city would 
be incomplete without reference to the discoveries which 
indicate the presence of oil and gas fields close at hand. 
Not more than a dozen miles away lie as promising surface 
indications of both oil and gas as have ever been found; the 
development of these possible riches has waited a longtime, 
but it will not be postponed forever, and the results may be 
far greater than are now apprehended. Last June representa- 



ti\'es of the Manufacturers' and Producers' Association also 
visited these oil fields, and were favorably impressed. K 
San Francisco paper, in reporting what they observed, said: 

"For half a mile along the bed of the creek, and experts 
say probably for two miles, the shale is saturated with 
petroleum. The crevices and seams are thickly coated 
with the brown substance, which resembles crude opium. 
At every stroke of the pick, oil oozed from the shale into 
the running water, and as it did so, the air was filled with 
the odors of gas and petroleum. . . . Natural gas was 
discovered on the property about four years ago, 500 yards 
from the place where oil was first found. Out of this 
spring, which has recently been deepened and enlarged, 
bubbles of gas arise continually, filling the air with fumes 
so strong as to make it dangerous to inhale. ' ' 

The introduction of cheap power in either of the ways 
here indicated, would wonderfully accelerate the growth of 
manufactures; but in any event their future appears to be 
assured. The mechanical industries will cluster around the 
bay, and San Francisco is too crowded to accommodate 
more than a moiety of them. Oakland is well adapted to 
receive them. She has no monopoly of the advantages, 
but she possesses a g;reater number than any other place on 
the bay, and that she will ultimately be a city of spindles 
and looms, of furnaces and forges, does not admit of doubt. 



WINTER WEATHER. 



When we talk of ' 'winter weather' ' in this county, it is 
only talk — it can't be anything else. 

The truth of the matter is that we have no winter at all. 

December, January, and February are "rainy months," 
but what of it ? We need all the rain we can get. We 
never get too much. Put all the rainy days together year 
in and year out, and they wouldn't average a full month; so 
it isn' t worth while calling it winter simply because it rains 
a little. 

Freezing weather we never have ana never look for. 

Snowstorms have no place in a book of this character, 
since they are unknown in this qlimate. 



TOMATOES EVERY DAY. 



James C. Kyte, 18 12 Market Street, Oakland, has a 
never-failing tomato vine. At least it hasn't failed for two 
years. There is always a cluster of tomatoes on it, and every 
week during the past two years he has gathered ripe toma- 
toes from it. 



A HUGE BED OF ONIONS. 



Wong Gee is a Chinaman, but he has an eye to onions 
in a business way. He has fifteen acres planted in onions, 
on a piece of land he has leased near the town of Newark. 
He anticipates harvesting seven tons to the acre, and mark- 
eting them at $8.00 per ton. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



49 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF ALAMEDA 
COUNTY. 



BY J. P. GARLICK. 
[Superintendent schools of Alameda County, California.] 



In the excellence of her system of public schools, Cali- 
fornia is one of the four or five states in the Union which 
take the front rank. And when a first place is claimed in the 
schools of the state for the public schools of Alameda 
County, the claim is one that might be justly expected from 
the large educational opportunities our people have enjoyed. 

The school system of Alameda County presents a remark- 
able growth and development, due in part to our locality 
and surroundings, in part to the men who have been the 
leaders in education, but more than anything else, due to 
the public and enlightened spirit of our citizens, who, with a 
large and wise liberalit\', have made our schools a chosen 
and attractive field to the best teachers of the state and 
nation. 



This growth and development may be exemplified in a 
remarkable way by a few figures from the records. 

By the report made to the state superintendent for the 
school year ending June 30, 1S76, the number of teachers 
in schools below the high school was 138. Of these only 
39, or a little more than 28 per cent, held first-grade cer- 
tificates. In the school year ending June 30, 1888, there 
were, excluding high schools, 276 teachers, double the 
number of ten years before, and of these 276, 205, or more 
than 74 per cent, held first-grade certificates — a truly won- 
derful record of professional improvement. Again, in the 
report of last school year, ending June 30, 1895 — nineteen 
years from the first report quoted — the number of teachers 
in the county schools, not including high schools, was 389, 
and of these, 354, or more than 91 percent, were the holders 
of first-grade certificates. This in itself is a great advance. 
In the first record quoted, 72 per cent of the Alameda 
teachers held certificates below the first grade; while in the 
record of last year, less than 9 per cent of the teaching force 
held certificates of an inferior grade. 




50 



ALAMEDA COUNTY- 



This betterment of the teachers has resulted in an improve- 
ment in the character of the work done all along the line. 
* Another cause of improvement of the schools has been 
the establishment of high schools. No county in the state 
has taken advantage of the law for the establishment of 
union high schools to a greater extent than has the 
county of Alameda. Besides the high schools of Berkeley, 
Alameda, and Oakland, the county has three others, located 
at Centerville, Livermore, and Haywards, all well equipped 
and doing excellent work. Those high schools represent 
twenty-eight school districts outside of Oakland, Alameda, 
and Berkeley, and may be reached by the pupils from every 
district in the county. They open the road to the State 
University to every girl and boy in the count}-, who is hun- 




Residence of Mrs. John Dean, Berkeley. 

gry for the higher education, and the best evidence of this 
hunger is the present crowded condition of both our city 
and union high schools. These high schools have made 
every primary school able to claim kinship with the Univer- 
sity, and the influence of the University is to-day a potent 
factor in the model primary class. 

These union high schools are also a great incentive to 
both the grammar and primary classes, while the State 
University, situated in our very midst, is an incentive and 
inspiration to all the schools of our system of education 
below it. 

Twenty-five years ago there was not a high school in the 
count) — to-day there are six, with an average daily attend- 
ance of over one thousand two hundred pupils, a large per- 
centage of whom aspire to the higher education of the State 
University. 

There is another important factor which has been at work 



in the improvement of our schools. It is the influence of 
the trained teacher — the influence of the state normal 
school. Everywhere in the county, though you may not 
find the normal teacher, you will find the influence of the 
normal school. There are a large number of the normal 
graduates in our schools, and, other things being equal, they 
are our best teachers. But many who have not had the 
advantage of the normal training, by coming into contact 
with these normal school graduates, have had their zeal 
inspired to do a higher class of work; and to this end many 
are taking special courses at our University, that they may 
have a better preparation to meet their classes. These are 
the teachers who are beginning to be in demand, and they 
will be more and more in demand in the near future. 

Another influence in mak- 
ing the schools what they 
are is supervision. Among 
the early superintendents ot 
the county are three men 
whose work in the formative 
period of our schools was of 
a character to insure the de- 
gree of excellence they have 
attained: W. F. B. Lynch, 
the pioneer superintendent, 
a man of large heart, quick 
sympathies, and great love 
for children; J. C. Gilson, a 
wise and untiring worker, 
whose eight years of service 
left every school in the 
county on higher ground; 
P. M. Fisher, under whose 
administration the schools 
took a new departure in the 
change of the course of 
study, by taking more of the 
best literature, which has re- 
sulted in giving to the chil- 
dren of the lower grades a 
taste for good books, which is one of the greatest influences 
in the moulding of character. 

In the grammar grades the masters of our language are 
being studied with profit and delight. To-day, pupils of 
the fifth grade write better compositions than pupils of the 
eighth grade wrote ten years ago; and this is the result of 
making language more prominent in the course of study. 

Teachers of primary classes are beginning to take courses 
in literature from University professors — not to prepare for 
higher grade work — but that they may do primary work 
better. 

Inspired by such men as Barnes, of Stanford, Brown and 
Bailey, of our State University, the child has been made the 
subject of study by many of our best teachers ; and this study is 
producing here, as it is among educators ever3rwhere, wiser 
and more humane methods of instruction. 

It is beginning to be understood that the schools are for 



FACTS AXD FIGURES. 



51 



the children. While there are schools whose teachers have 
not learned anything of the evolution of education that is 
abroad in the land, it is a pleasure to be able to say these 
schools are in the minority — a minority that is continually 
growing- smaller. 

There never was a time in the history of the state when 
there were so many good teachers seeking employment; 
and when we remember that the schools are for the children 
and not for the teachers, there seems to be no excuse on the 
part of boards of education and boards of trustees for 
retaining in their service poor teachers; and, while most 
boards of trustees seek to employ the best their funds will 
permit, there are some schools that might be greatly 
improved if no consideration other than the welfare of the 
children entered into the selection of teachers. 

This demand for better teachers and for better teaching is 
heard on every hand, and must be heeded. It comes from 
our high schools and our great universities. It comes from 
the foremost educators of our own and other countries. It 
comes from the great national assemblies of teachers. It 
comes from the dark days that are upon us, which demand 
from aU earnest teachers — both men and women — a solu- 
tion of the problems of social life. It is a demand for teach- 
ing that shall educate the heart as well as the head, the 
conscience as well as the intellect. It is a demand that the 
product of the schools shall be honest and upright citizens, 
who will not fall before temptation. More than all else, it 
is a demand that the children be taught to think for them- 
selves. Colonel Parker says, "When the children think, 
kings tremble." Right thinking is character; and in the 
character of our children is the safety of the republic. 



THE WATER FRONT. 



CORK TREES. 



The University of California, right here at our door, has 
distributed many bushels of acorns from the cork oak 
variety. Trees from these acorns have already grown up 
in the San Gabriel Valley. What will grow there will grow 
more prolific in this county. Statistics show that $2,000,- 
000 worth of cork is imported into the United States annu- 
ally. Why not have the greater part of that come from 
Alameda County? 



GOOD FISHING. 



Any day is a good day to ilsh in Alameda County. Fish 
in salt water and you can catch smelts and a thousand other 
varieties of fish. Throw out your line in any of the brooks, 
lakes, or rivers of the county, and you will catch trout, perch, 
pike, sunfish, goggle eyes, and many other kinds. Hun- 
dreds of men in this county make more than average 
wages catching fish for the market. 



BY L. J. LE CONTE, C. E. 

[Resident Engineer Oakland Harbor Worlcs.] 



On the fifth day of April, 1872, representative men of 
Oakland held a meeting and addressed a communication to 
Gen. B. S. Alexander and Col. G. H. Mendell, U. S. 
Engineers, stationed at San Francisco, requesting them to 
examine into the merits of San Antonio Estuary as a body 
of water susceptible of improvement for commercial purposes, 
and asking for an opinion as to the proper method of 
improvement, and the probable cost. 

This communication was signed by F. K. Shattuck, N. 
W. Spaulding, E. H. Pardee, A. L. Warner, P. F. Ferris, 
Mack Webber, Franklin Warner, Thos. J. Murphy, Wm. 
S. Snook, H. A. Mayhew, Sam Merritt, R. W. Kirkham, 
H. H. Haight, W. A. Bray, Wm. H. Glasscock, John C. 
Hays, Jas. de Fremery, J. West Martin, James Larue, 
John J. Spear, Sam Woods, J. Ross Brownie, Chas. J. 
McDougal, Nathan Porter, John Crockett, S. B. McKee, 
Isham Case, Edson Adams, A. C. Henry, P. S. Wilcox. 

In reply General Alexander and Colonel Mendell sub- 
mitted an elaborate report, dated May 15, 1872, wherein 
the opinion was given that the estuary was capable of 
improvement, and the cost would be for complete improve- 
ment, $3,159,750, and for moderate improvement sufficient 
to meet all present requirements, $1,172,050. 

As a result an act of Congress was passed March 3, 1873, 
pursuant to which a board of engineers was appointed, con- 
sisting of Gen. B. S. Alexander, Col. C. S. Stewart, and 
Col. G. H. Mendell, which board was instructed to make 
surveys and plan a harbor for San Antonio Creek, Califor- 
nia. The designs for improvement were all prepared, and 
the report of the board submitted February 16, 1874, the 
estimated cost of the necessary improvements being 
$1,814,529. 

PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT. 

The earliest charts show only two feet of water, at low 
tide, on the bar near the mouth of San Antonio Creek. At 
that time, 1857, some attempts had been made to improve 
the depth of water on the crest of the bar by means of a 
double row of piles, about 100 feet between the two rows, 
13 piles in each row, and covering a linear distance of about 
1,400 feet. This work was of little serv'ice except as a 
general guide, the channel shifting from side to side after 
every storm. Vessels could only enter or clear at or near 
high water, and navigation was confined to small craft, hav- 
ing a draft of not over 6 or 7 feet loaded. 

In i860 the state of California made an appropriation for 
the improvement of the bar at San Antonio Creek, and 
placed the same under the control of Captain GUmer, U. S. 
Topographical Engineer. He recommended and built two 
crib-work structures on the crest of the bar, and also did 
some dredging work. The benefits derived were short 
lived, the effect being to form two bars in place of one — the 



52 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



depth on each being about the same as before, two to three 
feet at low tide. 

TIDAL CANAL. 

The plan of improvement recommended by the board of 
engineers in February, 1S74, consisted of two parallel stone 
jetties extending from the shore westward into San Francisco 
Bay about two miles, the channel between the same to 
be dredged to a suitable depth required by navigation. In 
order to maintain this deep-water channel — as well as the 
inner harbor channels — they proposed to bring in the tidal 
prism of an adjoining estuary (San Leandro Bay) by means 
of lock-gates and a tidal canal of such dimensions as to be 



of their own accord, and the entire tidal volume would thus 
be forced to find escape through the tidal canal, through the 
basin at East Oakland, and thence westerly along the city 
front of Oakland, through the jetty channel to deep water 
in San Francisco Bay. 

The scheme of improvement, as above outlined, has been 
followed in a general way, subject to such modifications as 
experience and new conditions have proved to be advisable 
and economical. 

FIRST APPROPRIATION. 

The first appropriation, $100,000, was made March, 
1874, and the first contract entered into October 14, 1874, 




Scenes in Oakland Harbor. 



navigable. The addition of this auxiliary tidal volume to 
the natural tidal volume of San Antonio Estuary, would more 
than double the same, on ebb tide, and the increased scour 
thus induced would insure the maintenance of a first-class 
deep-water ship channel throughout the entire inner harbor 
and westerly into the Bay of San Francisco. To regulate 
and control the tidal flow through the canal, they proposed 
to build a dam with suitable tide-gates located at the site of 
the present bridge across the mouth of San Leandro Bay, 
these gates to work automatically, and so arranged as to 
allow the flood tide to pass through freely into San Leandro 
Bay; but as soon as high water is reached and the tide 
begins to drop and turn to ebb, the gates all close tightly, 



for stonework on the jetties. About this time the improve- 
ments were placed directly under charge of Col. G. H. 
Mendell. From and after this date work progressed slowly 
but steadily, under small appropriations, until October 5, 
1877, when the trustees of a certain corporation, known as 
the Oakland Water Front Co. , held a meeting and adopted 
a certain map of proposed harbor improvements, showing a 
tidal water channel and scouring basin in San Antonio 
Creek, dedicating the same to public use and claiming title 
to the entire abutting frontage on the channel. This map 
was accompanied by descriptive resolutions, all of which 
were duly placed on file in the city clerk's office in Oakland. 
This proceeding led to a cessation of operations on the 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



53 



harbor works, the government officer, Colonel Mendell, 
holding that if this was a private harbor, then public moneys 
should not be expended in its development. As a result all 
work was suspended for three years, or until the U. S. 
Attorney General, Washington, D. C, gave, on the twenty- 
eighth day of June, 1880, an opinion that the United States 
have already full righti' without cession from any parties, 
and on the sixteenth day of July, 1880, the War Department 
ordered that work should be at once resumed. This was a 
joyous day for Oakland. On October 5, 1880, a contract 
for stonework on the jetties was entered into, and operations 
were renewed, and have continued with few interruptions up 
to date. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WORKS. 

The north jetty is completed; length, 9,200 feet; and the 
south jetty has been extended 12,000 feet, and a proposed 
extension of 550 feet is contemplated. The total amount of 
stone required so far approximates 340,000 tons. 

The channel way between the jetties, averaging 750 feet 
in width, has a dredged channel 300 feet wide and 19 feet 
deep at high water, the old original depth at the same stage 
of tide being only 8 to 10 feet. 

Thence easterly along the city front of Oakland we have 
a dredged channel 300 feet wide and 26 feet deep at high 
water and 20 feet deep at low water, sufficient to accommo- 
date most sea-going vessels. 

This 26-foot channel extends from the bridge westerly a 
distance of 10,000 feet, making 20,000 feet of frontage, or 
3.8 miles of deep-water channel along the city front. 
Between the bridges and above as far as Sessions' basin, no 
work has been done in the main channel, for the simple rea- 
son that the natural depth in that portion, is, and always 
has been, nearly the same as that at the mouth of jetties, 
namely, 1 6 to 20 feet at high water. We now come to the 
Brooklyn basin, or the Tidal basin, where a large amount of 
work has been done in the way of dredging. 

The quantity of material removed is approximately 
3,000,000 cubic yards, all of which has been placed ashore 
on the adjoining lowlands, filling in the same to such an 
extent as make them largely above overflow. This work 
has cost nearly $480,000, and as a result we have a fine 
sheltered basin 320 acres in area. On the Brooklyn side, a 
channel 200 feet wide, and 14 feet deep at high water, has 
been dredged, beginning at Sessions' basin and extending 
easterly as far as the cotton mills wharf. This channel in 
course of time is to ba widened to 300 feet and extended 
to the tidal canal. 

The grand total area of the harbor proper, east of the 
jetties, is approximately 700 acres, and is susceptible of 
being made a first-class landlocked harbor, furnishing room 
for 10 miles of docks and slips. 

The work done so far on the tidal canal comprises a 
large amount of excavation at the west end, and likewise at 
the east end. The middle section is yet to come out. 
When completed, this canal is to be 300 feet wide on the 
bottom — side slopes one on two — makingthe top width nearly 



400 feet, while the total length fi-om end to end will be 9,000 
feet. The material excavated from the canal has been all 
placed ashore to fill in and reclaim lowlands, raising them 
high enough to be entirely free from subsequent overflow, 
thus enhancing their market value. The total amount 
expended so far on the canal is approximately $280,000, 
including the handsome steel-iron bridge at Park Street, 
Alameda, which spans the canal. The present depth of 
water in the channel is 14 feet at high water, although it 
is more than likely that when canal navigation is developed 
along the Alameda frontage, this depth will be increased ro 
20 feet at high water, at least, and possibly more. Future 
necessities will determine these points. 

FUTURE OPERATIONS. 

There yet remains to be executed the following work: — 

Completion of the 26-foof high water channel westerly 
through the jetty channel to deep water in San Francisco 
Bay. 

The extension of the south jetty 550 feet. 

Excavation of the canal, with suitable bridges at certain 
places. 

Dam and tidal sluice gates at the entrance to San Lean- 
dro Bay. 

When complete these harbor works will furnish a commo- 
dious haven for all classes* of sea-going vessels. The naviga- 
ble channel extending to deep water in San Francisco Bay will 
be 300 to 500 feet wide, and 26 feet deep at high water. A 
shipyard is already established, capable of building, clean- 
ing, and repairing vessels at reasonable rates. 

The amount of money yet required to complete the 
improvements now contemplated, is about $1,000,000. 

SMALL, APPROPRIATIONS. 

The extraordinarily slow progress made in this harbor 
improvement has been due entirely to lack of funds. The 
engineer officers in charge asked for $500,000 annually, 
and generally received but $100,000. It takes very Httle 
calculation to determine the reason why it will take about 
five times as long to complete the works as might have been 
the case had the funds been supplied when needed. 

Oakland harbor is not alone in this category; nearly all 
the harbor works in the union are subject to the same lack 
of funds, and no relief can be reasonably expected until the 
present system is modified so as to meet requirements, and 
permit of continuous and steady work. 

The latest news from Washington, D. C. , is that the New 
River and Harbor Bill now before Congress for passage, 
contemplates placing these harbor works on the contract 
list, which means regular annual appropriations until final 
completion. It is to be hoped that this happy result will be 
brought about speedily. 

COMMERCIAL PROGRESS. 

The average citizen has no conception of the truly won- 
derful growth of commerce at Oakland harbor, in spite of 
the hindrances and lack of funds to push the work ahead. 



54 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



The following tabular statement speaks for itself, showing 
an authentic record of the growth in water transportation, 
passing through the jetty channel from the beginning of 
operations up to date. 

Years. Tons. 

1874, Before improvement 154,300 



1876, After 

187S, " 

18S0, " 

1882, " 

1884, " 

1886, " 

1888, " 

1890, " 

1892, " 

1S94, " 

1895. " 



. 162,000 
. 404,000 
• 935,000 
.1,400,000 
.1,460,000 
.1,745,000 
.2,200,000 
.2,319,000 
..2,643,000 
..2,428,000 
..2,600,000 



This is a most flattering and demonstrative proof of the 
great and lasting benefits conferred on the city of Oakland 
by these harbor works, but these advantages will be vastly 
augmented when dredging work shall have been completed, 
and deep-sea vessels can enter and clear at all stages of the 
tide and conditions of weather. 

The port of San Francisco, across the bay, is the most 
important on the Pacific Coast. Her combined tonnage 
movement, annual arrivals and departures, sail and steam, 
has been placed at 2,500,000 tons register, which is proba- 
bly equivalent to 4,000,000 tons gross. Hence it would 
appear that the annual tonnage movement through the 
jetty channel at Oakland harbor, is now more than half that 
passing annually through the Golden Gate. 

These fects all go to show conclusively that the city of 




"Oakland" Ferry Boat. 

While the tonnage movement has made wonderful strides, San Francisco is naturally situated on the wrong fside of the 

it would not be proper to omit the very rapid increase in bay, and all that Oakland lacks, to make her a successful 

the annual passenger traffic across the ferries between Oak- rival, is deep-water channels of sufficient capacity to accom- 

land and San Francisco, making half-hourly trips. This modate deep-sea vessels. In a few years more this need 

ferry traffic is only equaled by that existing between New will be supplied, and Oakland will have a fine landlocked, 

York City and Brooklyn. But the ferry-boats at Oakland deep-water harbor, free from all dangers to navigation, and 

are, beyond all question, the largest, most comfortable, and completely sheltered against the heaviest gales from any 

h ighly finished models of public conveyance to be found any- point of the compass, 

where in the world. The great factor in the evolution of every seaport has 

The following statement shows the rapid increase in pas- been declared to be a comprehensive connection with the 
senger traffic, from the beginning of operations on the railway systems of all the adjacent country. Lasting pros- 
harbor works up to 1895: — perity depends largely upon this circumstance. The rela- 
1873 2,067,000 passengers tion between the port and railroads should be in close con- 

^^f° 5,000,000 " tact, and by this means avoid the terrible burden of drayage, 

1885 8,000,000 " 1,- u • \4 jr 11 I A ■ 

j8do II 000 000 " which IS so dreadfully slow and expensive. 

1895 12,555,000 " It follows that warehouses ought to be on the dock 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



55 



frontage, with railroad tacks in front, next the sea-going 
vessels, and also behind the sheds where custom goods'are 
to puss. Local expenses can be thus reduced to a min- 
imum, which feature constitutes the life of the seaport. The 
railroad needs a good deep-vater harbor to keep them 
going, and likewise a seapoi-t nowadays can not be prop- 
erly worked in the interests of commerce without the 
helping hand of the railroad. This mutual interest should 
inevitably serve as the basis of agreements, and the parties 
should never lose sight of the fact that the increase of the 
annual tonnage movement is the true source of profit and 
prosperity. 

Shipping interests are not governed by sentiment; a vessel 
always seeks that seaport which furnishes the best accom- 
modations, the best facilities for handling light and heavy 
freight, thus unloading and loading quickly. This means a 
short stoppage in port for the ship, which in turn means that 
an extra trip can be made annually. 

Oakland is now the greatest railroad center in the state 
of California, being the real terminus of the following 
roads : — • 

Central Pacific Railroad (transcontinental). Southern 
Pacific Railroad (transcontinental), California and Oregon 
(interstate railroad), Napa Valley Railroad (state), Califor- 
nia Pacific Railroad (state), Western Pacific Railroad 
(state), Southern Pacific Coast Railroad (state), San Joa- 
quin Valley Railroad (state, west side). 

The larger portion of the freight handled on these roads 
is now transported across the bay by transfer ferry, and 
delivered at the depot in San Francisco, whence the goods 
are hauled long distances by teams at great expense for 
drayage, and delivered to the merchants, or taken further 
on to the deep-sea vessels at the diflferent docks located at 
the further end of the city front. 

This abnormal state of affairs can not last forever. First- 
class facilities for loading and unloading vessels, enabling them 
to make short stays in port, will always conquer in the end. 
Let Oakland have her deep-water harbor, with safe berthage 
for shipping, efficient means for the handling of freight 
rapidly and cheaply, the railroad trains brought close up 
alongside the deep-sea ships, thus saving all the cost of 
drayage, and we can safely say that Oakland is destined to 
be the Liverpool of the Pacific Coast. 

/ The engineer officer now in charge of these harbor works 
is Col. Charles R. Suter, a gentleman of wide experience 
and mature judgment. He succeeded Col. G. H. Mendell 
in October, 1895, who has retired from active service. Col- 
onel Suter understands the situation most thoroughly, and 
will do everything in his power to push the work to an 
early completion. 



THE DUTY OF MEN OF WEALTH TO 
OAKLAND. 



BY REV. CHAS. W. WENDTE. 



October 17, 1896. — A blizzard in Chicago to-day; plenty 
of cold weather and snow for everybody. Glorious weather 
in Oakland, California. Plenty of sunshine and flowers for 
everybody. Keep your snow, Chicago, and we will keep 
our sunshine and flowers all winter. 



No one who studies the signs of the times intelligently can 
fail to see that civilized society is on the eve of vast changes. 
These changes will secure not only a more perfect equaliza- 
tion of political rights and social opportunities, but also a 
juster distribution of the products and rewards of human 
labor. 

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. 

It is altogether likely, at the rapid pace with which social 
revolutions move in our day, that the early part of the 
nineteenth century will witness at least the partial inaug- 
uration of this new order of things, and that many 
now living will be seriously affected by it. Whether 
the change shall come gradually and peacefully or be ush- 
ered in with scenes of disorder and violence, will depend 
on the enlightenment, conscience, and humanity of those 
who are now in control of the government, business, and 
social order. In this country, which is more nearly a plu- 
tocracy than any other yet known in human history, the 
rich men are in control. It is for them to decide whether, 
prudently foreseeing the storm, they will forestall its direful 
consequences to themselves and their families by such con- 
cessions to the increasing popular demand as reason and 
conscience shall dictate, and by displays of generosity and 
public spirit which will palliate if not excuse their existence 
as a privileged class in the community, or whether they will 
repeat the folly of the nobles in the French Revolution, 
and, deriding and cursing the people, will persist in self- 
willed and evil courses. Let them not, like the foolish 
ostrich, hide their head in the sand, or cry: "It will not 
happen in our time. After us the deluge, if it please 
you." For they know not the day or the hour when all 
this may come to pass. It is the unexpected that always 
happens. For a century and more the floods of social dis- 
content have been mounting higher and higher behind the 
old dams of political and industrial institutionalism. But it 
will not take them an instant to break their barriers when 
the fulness of unrest and happiness shall have come. Who 
shall then stay that vast and whelming tide? 

The people are the possessors of ultimate power. They 
may make or unmake the existing order. Laws and cus- 
toms have little staying power when opposed to- thinking, 
earnest men, with the ballot in their hands. Corrupt officials 
and panderers to the greed of the wealthy will go down like 
grass in a prairie fire, when the people are thoroughly 
aroused and united in their endeavors. The ideal of the 
new social commonwealth is rapidly gaining ground among 
the working millions of the world. The mechanics and 
tradesmen of the cities are combining forces with the farm- 
ing class, from whom they have been strangely enough 
alienated until now, although their interests are practically 
identical. Nothing can withstand such a federation. Fool- 



56 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



ish things will be said and done, mushroom parties will 
arise and go down again, demagogues will flourish for a 
season. But ultimately the educated classes will unite with 
the common mass for their mutual salvation. Brain and 
muscle united will win the victory over selfishness and 
money. The right will triumph, and humanity be king. 

No one who has a clear vision of the social movement 
to-day, no one who listens to the voice of his conscience, 
no one who has a heart in his bosom, can behold the present 
upward movement among the toiling millions of earth, and 
not say that their cause is just, their demand is righteous, 
and that, by the help of Him who is justice and righteous- 
ness, they will succeed. 

The imminency of the 
social crisis which is now 
upon us, should appeal to 
the enlightened self-interest 
of the rich men in the com- 
munity, and plead also with 
their better nature for a dis- 
play of human sympathy and 
public spirit. They can not 
hope to maintain themselves 
much longer by any methods 
now in use, but they can 
disarm their opponents, they 
can win for themselves a 
large share of the world's 
sympathy and applause, if 
they will remember their 
less fortunate brethren, and 
display a kindly and helpful 
spirit in their day and gen- 
eration. We have a right to 
expect this from them. 

Let them not wait, like so 
many, till the near approach 
of death compels them to 
close accumulating, and re- 
laxes their hold on their 
treasure — t hen to make 
tardy, half-hearted atone- 
ment by a grudging gift to the public. Let them give 
while yet they live, and put their heart into their gift. 
Ceasing the mere acquisition of wealth for its own sake, let 
them gain that they may more generously give, devoting 
to noble ends a goodly portion of the wealth they have 
accumulated. Verily, they will have their reward, a clear 
conscience, a happy heart, the love of their fellows, and the 
approval of God. No man is so happy as he who, with- 
out seeking worldly returns therefor, engages in works of 
beneficence that build up, in health, education, and virtue, 
the human family. 

In contemplating the lives of the noble rich, an ardent 
wish will sometimes arise within us that we, too, were pos- 
sessed of wealth. 




Residence of J. W. Ballard, Claremant. 



Permit me too to indulge a little in this day-dreaming, 
while I tell in briefest fashion what I would do for Oakland 
if I were a rich man. 

Ours is a very young city, yet there are among us men 
of large wealth, not in their own estimation, perhaps, or in 
comparison with the colossal fortunes of some of our Cali- 
fornia magnates, but amply sufficient for any of the bene- 
factions I shall indicate. So far as I am acquainted with 
the gentlemen in question, they are also singularly intelli- 
gent, well-educated, and humane men; and yet Oakland has 
received very few gifts or endowments of a public nature 
from her rich men. The generous bequests of Mr. Anthony 
Chabot to science and charity, deserve an honorable men- 
tion. But they are almost 
exceptional. The large gift 
of that kind and good wom- 
an, Mrs. Garcelon, for a 
public free hospital, is still in 
jeopardy. 

This is all that has yet 
been done in a public way 
for Oakland. There are 
still glorious opportunities 
for private benevolence. 
Let me indicate a few of 

P*'''^''*Vlfi^^^^^H ^^'^'^- '^^'^ would be for 
i Vlj^^^^^^l the ideal rather than the 

practical interests of our 
community. The relief of 
the poor, the support of the 
existing charities, the further 
endowment of the various 
hospitals and asylums, es- 
pecially the Fabiola, which 
seems to me the best ad- 
ministered institution in the 
state — these should be a 
common charge upon the 
well-to-do and generous 
people of our city. Every- 
body should give regularly 
to their support, leave them 
large or small bequests at death, and concern himself, so far 
as possible, with their management. If any one desires to 
make special endowment for a non-existing charity, let it be 
for a hospital for incurables, than which no institution of 
mercy is so urgently needed in Oakland. 

OUR PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

I shall plead especially to-day for the increase of intellec- 
tual and social culture among the people, for those literary, 
educational, and aesthetic interests which are so essential to 
the welfare of society, but which in a young community like 
ours are apt to be subordinated to the more immediate and 
passing demands of its material existence. I do not refer 
to our public schools and colleges. We provide abundantly 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



57 



for them, and they will be ever precious to the American 
people. But I refer to great educating, civilizing, and 
humanizing agencies, like the free library, public museum of 
art, and public parks and playgrounds for the people. 
Nothing is more characteristic of the civilization of older 
communities at the east than the enlightened and generous 
interest taken by wealthy men in such institutions. 

In New England nearly every town boasts its public 
library, and scores of them are housed in beautiful structures, 
erected by the public spirit and enlightened interest of 
wealthy citizens. In our own public library is a book con- 
taining pictures and plans of a large number of these edifices, 



drew 100,000 volumes from its shelves, and that every day 
nearly 1,000 persons visit its various reading-rooms. What 
other institution, church or charity, can make such a show- 
ing of good accomplished at so small an expense, and with 
so slight an admixture of evil? But think, also, what it 
implies, that this great agency for good in our midst should 
be so feebly sustained, so shabbily housed, in a building not 
only too small for its growing needs, but in imminent danger 
of collapse, or conflagration. Our community suffers in 
character and repute from this discreditable fact. People 
from other cities who visit Oakland bear away a contemptu- 
ous opinion of our social culture and public spirit when 




Broadway Looking South from Fourteenth Street. 



superb monuments of the generosity and good taste of their 
donors. It makes one sad at heart to go out to Mountain 
View Cemetery and behold the costly but meaningless and 
useless structures erected there by family pride or affection, 
when a so much nobler memory is within their reach in the 
free public library. A public library in a city is a fountain- 
head of ennobling and refining influences. It is a stored 
reservoir of the world's knowledge and wisdom, culture and 
piety. In thousands of rills its quickening influences make 
their way into the homes and hearts of the people. None 
so poor, so humble, so wretched, that he can not find ample 
resources there for mind and heart, and be inspired and 
comforted by the world's best thought and life. Think of 
what it means that, according to the last report of our Oak- 
land Free Library, over 1,700 persons in the past year 



they see the lamentable neglect into which this great inter- 
est has fallen among us. 

Let us not, however, blame our city authorities too much 
for this. The whole civic life of Oakland has had to be 
created within thirty years. The material needs of a young 
and growing city like ours are all-absorbing. .Streets and 
sewers, lights, parks, wharves, and fire department, and the 
police, jails, and asylums, schools, courts, and financial 
administration, these need perforce occupy the first place in 
the attention of our city officials. The finer things of life 
are postponed or neglected altogether. Yet an unusually 
large proportion of our population has come hither from 
communities where these elements of culture and beauty are 
more generously fostered, and painfully feel their depriva- 
tion in their new home. There is a universal desire among 



58 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



the people of Oakland that its public library should be more 
suitably housed and supported, that it may enter upon the 
larger career of usefulness that awaits it. 

Here, then, is where the private beneficence of the rich 
must supplement the limited abilities of the municipality. 
Let some wealthy man among us take the initiative in this 
matter. He could not bestow his money to a better pur- 
pose, reach with benefaction so many people in all condi- 
tions of life, or so insure tor himself the gratitude of his 
fellows. 

A gift of $100,000 rightly expended would suffice for a 
handsome edifice, and also permit the creation of a fund for 
the annual purchase of books. The municipality would, 
without doubt, gladly give the site for such an edifice, and 
obligate Itself to levy a specified tax annually for the support 
of the institution. It ought, also, as in the case of the 
city of Baltimore, to permit the creation of a permanent 
library board composed of eminent citizens, with a few city 
officials added, and thus take the library administration for- 
ever out of local politics. The edifice should contain large 
reading-rooms for both sexes, alcoves for students, a gen- 
eral delivery room and stack rooms for the books. It 
should also include an art gallery and a small amphi- 
theater for literary, scientific, and art lectures. Such a 
library building of white marble and in beautiful Ionic pro- 
portions has been erected in our sister city of Stockton, at a 
cost of some $50,000. It is the gift of a generous rich man 
of that city. When I recently beheld it, I longed that his 
good example might soon be followed in Oakland. 

A CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC. 

Another great need of our social and art life is a well- 
endowed conservatory of music. The climate of Oakland 
seems particularly favorable to the pursuit of this refining 
and ennobling art in its vocal form. 

The numerous organizations, orchestras, and choirs, the 
vocalists, instrumental performers, teachers and students of 
music, show how great a hold it has on our people. One 
might almost call it the characteristic art of Oakland. I 
believe great results might be obtained from its more thor- 
ough and instructed conduct among us. A living center is 
needed which should bring to Oakland a greater number of 
the best teachers and performers, and make them work har- 
moniously together in the furtherance of their art. The 
noblest forms of music would be heard. The kindred arts 
of elocution and dramatic expression would be cultivated. 
Hundreds of students would flock to our city. The whole 
community would be refined and uplifted. All this waits 
for the initiative of a wealthy man who to an enlightened 
love of music adds the business ability and means to found 
such an institution, and make our beautiful city the musical 
center of the Pacific Coast. 

The great Belgian violinist, Isaye, on a recent artistic visit 
to this city, was so deeply impressed with our musical possi- 
bilities that he was minded to surrender his distinguished 
position at the world-famed conservatory of Brussels, and 
found a similar institution in Oakland, To a representative 



circle of Oakland's musical people, he unfolded his brilliant 
and fascinating scheme. Eminent teachers were to be 
brought here from Europe and the nearer east, an orchestra 
organized, a thousand pupils enrolled, drawn from all the 
countries that border on the Pacific Ocean. Over half a 
million dollars would incidentally be added to Oakland's 
income, and her name made famous the world o\'er. It 
was not all a dream. It was a possibility which only lacked 
the one essential, an endowment, to make it true. Will not 
that lack be supplied in the near future by the wealth and 
public spirit of our rich men? 

PUBLIC PARKS. 

Let me speak of one more benefaction. I would fain 
have bestowed on Oakland a system of public parks. 
When the boulevard around the lake shall finally be built 
in a fair and sensible fashion, let it run up through the can- 
yons into the hills. 

There, by the side of Mountain View, the lowly resting- 
place of the dead, let there be also a playground and place 
of recreation for the living. Let landscape art add to the 
natural beauties of the region, and playsteads for the chil- 
dren make it a loved place of pilgrimage to them. Who 
can estimate the good that such a resort, with other subsid- 
iary ones in various parts of the city, would accomplish in 
the course of years? In the German city from which my 
parents came, there was such a park, the gift of two maiden 
ladies, 200 years ago. They have mouldered into dust, but 
their names and their gifts are held in affectionate remem- 
brance to this day. Happy thousands drink in refreshing 
sunshine and air, and fragrance of woods and fields, through 
their generous deed, and parents tell their children of the 
good women of old who made all this enjoyment possible to 
them. 

THE OPPORTUNITY IS A CALL. 

Such are some of the opportunities which await some of 
our rich men in Oakland. Will they not be equal to them? 
Every opportunity is a message from the Eternal Father of 
life to the souls of his children, seeking to rouse them from 
their sluggishness and apathy towards the right, to win them 
from self-seeking, and make them live for higher ends. If 
God's kingdom on earth is to be built, it must be through 
our faithfulness to the trusts committed to us. Of him who 
has received much, there shall be much required. 



BEET SUGAR. 



Many fortunes will be made in this country by raising 
sugar beets on the one hand and by converting them into 
sugar on the other. The beet-raising industry has already 
grown to wonderful proportions in the neighborhood of 
Pleasanton, and the beet sugar refinery at Alvarado was 
compelled to increase its facilities before it could handle last 
season's crop. As long as the human family uses sugars 
and syrups, the beet industry will exist, and nowhere in 
America will its prosperity exceed that of Alameda County. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



59 



CURRANT AND BERRY CULTURE IN ALA- 
MEDA COUNTY. 



BY A. D. PRYAL. 
[President Alameda County Horticultural Society.] 



Alameda County may now boast of being the home of 
the currant, and within the suburbs of San Leandro, San 
Lorenzo, and Hayvvards may be found the largest currant 
patches in the United States. 

The deep aUuvial soils, rich in sedimentary deposits, pro- 
duce extraordinary crops of currants. Within the above- 
named districts at least one thousand (i,oooj acres are 
planted in currants; of this number Mr. Meek, of San 
Lorenzo, has one hundred and forty (140) acres adapted to 
the currant culture. The average currant farm ranges from 
twenty to forty acres. 

The size, quality, and perfection of the Alameda currant 



duce large crops in this county. Many fruit growers con- 
sider the soil of the valley west of the Mission hills, espe- 
cially around San Leandro and Niles, preferable and possibly 
the best soil in the state for the growing of blackberries. 

Mr. F"arley, of San Leandro, has a large patch of this fruit 
grown and cultivated on the same ground for ten years, 
without irrigation, while the plants continue good and pro- 
duce large berries. There is hardly a garden without a 
row of this productive fruit, and the improved and finer 
kinds are cultivated in all our gardens. 

STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 

Strawberries produce large crops in all parts of Alameda 
County, and, like other berries, they are a sure crop; they 
need no protection in this mild climate. They produce two 
crops every year, while many varieties produce berries all 
the year round. This is no fiction, for most strawberry 
plants produce berries continually through the season. 




Home of A. D. Pryal; Pagoda Hill in background, sliuwing eucalyptus Forest. 



is known favorably throughout the Pacific Coast. The local 
market demands good shipments for this currant, while 
from eight to ten thousand chests are shipped yearly to 
Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The local 
canneries pack thousands of cases of this fruit, as the currant 
is always in great demand. When the canning companies 
make a specialty of putting up currant jelly and jam, there will 
be tons of this fruit disposed of in our own home markets. 

There are not many black currants raised for wholesale 
trade, but sufficient quantities of them are grown to supply 
our home market. The perfect hardiness and great pro- 
ductiveness never fail to produce a large crop every year 
without irrigation. The white currant is very productive, 
and is a few days earlier than the other varieties; the berries 
are large and are preferred for the table, and are less acid 
than the red currant. 

Enterprising horticulturists cultivate this berry, as its 
■cooling, mild flavor is relished by most people. 

BLACKBERRY CULTURE. 

Blackberries, foreign and native varieties, grow and pro- 



The deep, loamy soils of our valleys produce excellent 
strawberries of the highest flavor; the soft, balmy atmos- 
pheric conditions of our climate, with uniform thermal 
moderation of temperature, naturally bring all our fruits to 
perfection. 

GOOSEBERRY CULTURE. 

Gooseberries of great size and of excellent varieties are 
produced in this county, but their culture has been some- 
what reduced during recent years. Though we supply the 
markets of Oakland and San Francisco, the canning com- 
panies put up all the gooseberries they can get when the 
markets are supplied. 

RASPBERRY CULTURE. 

The raspberry is another fruit that grows and produces 
large crops in this county. The red varieties are largely 
planted, and there have been as many as a thousand acres 
planted with this fruit. Alameda County raspberries have 
been shipped all over the coast, and, like the currants, are 
found in the markets of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. 



6o 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



THE OAKLAND EXPOSITION. 



BY JOHN T. BELL. 



In November, 1895, eight men — ^J. W. Nelson, George 
Roeth, M. J. Keller, Chas. D. Booth, Fred Becker, Theo 
Gils, E. G. Buswell, and F. W. Spiars — as the result of a 
desire originating with a few public-spirited men, were 
chosen as an Executive Committee to arrange for and con- 
duct an exposition, designed to make prominent the manu- 
factures and products of Alameda County. Without a 
dollar in their treasury, and with a probability of coming 
out of the enterprise in debt, these men undertook the 
task. They rented the Mills Tabernacle, which has a seat- 
ing capacity of 3,500 people, built an annex 83x100 feet 
square, filled the two buildings with exhibits, arranged for 
a series of evening entertainments of a high order, and 
invited the public to the entertainment thus provided. And 
the public came, with the result that at the close of the two 
weeks during which the exposition continued, beginning 
with December 16, the committee found itself with about 
$1,700 in the treasury, and all its bills paid, including the 
cost of the annex — $1, 125. 

Associated with the gentlemen above named were Craigie 
Sharp, Supt.;J. T. Street, C. E. Evans, and H. M. Tum 
Suden, assistants; Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Trowbridge and 
S. H. Tacy, Committee on Entertainment; A. D. Pryal, 
Horticultural Committee; George A. Norton, Committee on 
Awards; Mrs. L. C. Kelley, Mrs. D. W. Gelwicks, R. D. 
Yelland, H. R. Hill, and C. C. Judson, Committee on Art; 
John T. Bell, Committee on Tickets and Admissions, and 
Mrs. C. D. Pierce, Mrs. Gilbert Curtis, Mrs. Walter 
Mathews, Mrs. Florence Hildebrand, Mrs. J. T. Corothers, 
Committee on Decorations. The following-named ladies, 
connected with the Ebell Society, also rendered valuable 
assistance in carrying the enterprise into effect: Mrs. W. C. 
Church, Mrs. A. W. Bishop, Mrs. G. H. Burdick, Mrs. 
G. H. Collins, Mrs. Paul Lohse, Mrs. G. L. Nusbaumer, 
Mrs. L. G. Judd, Mrs. E. W. Purington, Mrs. G. W. Bun- 
nell, Mrs. W. A. Childs, Mrs. H. Alston, Mrs. E. J. Cotton, 
Mrs. B. C. Dick, Mrs. James Evans, Mrs. J. H. Fish, Mrs. 
R. P. Gleason, Miss A. L. Grant, Miss Jennie Hill, Miss 
Mary Lambert, Mrs. A. McBean, Miss A. Miner, Mrs. 
E. H. Morgan, Mrs. H. C. Morris, Mrs. H. B. Pinney, 
Mrs. Daniel Titus. 

From the outset the Executive Committee met with the 
heartiest cooperation from the public generally. The Tele- 
phone Company made connection with the building and 
furnished service free; the Oakland Gas, Light and Heat 
Company, through its secretary, Mr. John A. Britton, 
agreed to light the buildings, and furnish moti\'e power 
for machinery free of expense. In order to do this the Gas, 
Light and Heat Company went to an expense of over $500. 
The newspaper publishers, also, of Alameda County and 
San Francisco, did all in their power to aid the enterprise, 
and to that end contributed, freely, advertising space which 



it would have cost a large sum to purchase. The Manu- 
facturers' and Producers' Association of California, head- 
quarters in San Francisco, likewise gave valuable aid, as 
the Exposition was practically carrying into effect the pur- 
poses for which the state association was formed, and at 
an early stage in the history of the Exposition proffered the 
services of Mr. S. H. Tacy, one of its promoters. This 
proffer was accepted, and in his capacity of corresponding 
secretary and member of the Program Committee, Mr. Tacy 
rendered the Executive Committee valuable assistance. In 
the building of the annex Mr. William Winnie, president of 
the Builders' Exchange, assisted the committee in a very 
efficient manner, without charge. Favors were also received 
from Burnham, Standeford & Co. and the Oakland Sash 
and Door Company. 

INCORPORATED. 

Animated by a desire to secure additional advantages to 
Oakland, the Executive Committee decided to incorporate 
with a view to holding expositions annually. On the 6th 
of January, 1896, the necessary papers were filed, providing 
for the issuing of capital stock to the value of $100,000, 
fixing the life of the corporation at fifty years, and making 
liberal provision for an extension of the plans and purposes 
of the incorporators. The following named signed the 
incorporation papers, each subscribing for $1,000 of stock: 
J. W. Nelson, M. J. Keller, Fred Becker, John T. Bell, 
E. G. Buswell, George Roeth, Craigie Sharp, F. W. Spiars, 
Theodore Gier, H. O. Trowbridge, and Charles S. Booth. 

January 29, a meeting of the stockholders was held, and 
a board of directors, consisting of the above named, was 
elected, and the directors elected officers as follows: Presi- 
ident, James W. Nelson; vice-president, M. J. Keller; sec- 
retary, George Roeth; treasurer, the Union National Bank. 

The following summer the second Exposition was given, 
in the buildings previously occupied, beginning August 3, 
and continuing for three weeks, with Craigie Sharp as 
superintendent, C. E. Evans assistant superintendent, and 
W. W. Moody assistant secretary. With some slight 
changes the working committees were practically the same 
as those of the year before, but the musical entertainment 
was put in charge of Mr. Alex Stewart. Additional space 
for exhibits was provided, the entire block of land, 200x300 
feet (with the exception of a small space in one corner), 
being utilized. In point of attendance and every other 
respect, the second exposition far exceeded that of 1895. 
At the election held in January last, the same board of 
officers was elected, with the exception that Theo. Gier was 
elected vice-president, Mr. Keller declining a reelection. 

The Exposition for this year is to be held in July. 



Roses. — In 1853 the rose industry was in its infmcy, 
and full-grown roses were worth twenty-five cents each. In 
that year A. D. Pryal cleared $2,000 off his little patch. 
Now nearly every dooryard is supplied with many varieties, 
and while the prices are less in comparison, the demand is 
great and the profits very agreeable indeed. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



6i 



OAKLAND TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW. 



BY A. H. BREED 



Nature has endowed Oakland witH wonderful natural 
advantages — advantages that are not fully appreciated by the 
average citizen — and the majority of us who do realize the 
great possibilities within our municipality and at our very 
doors, are apparently willing to allow them to remain unde- 



between high and low tides, girting our entire harbor, and up 
to recently we stood meekly by and offered no resistance. 
But, thanks to the awakening public spirit, two fearless city 
councils and honest lawyers employed by the city, we are 
likely to have restored to us this water frontage, of which we 
have been so shamefully depri\'ed these many years. 

Oakland is on the move, and she will not rest until the 
highest court in the land has given back to us our own. 
We shall then erect warehouses and whar\'es, and be a sea- 
port city and commercial center in fact. 




Corral Hollow Coal Fields, near Livermore, Cal. 



veloped. It has been said that Oakland lacked public 
spirit and enterprise, and that she never did do anything at 
the proper time. Now, while this may have been true in 
the past, I am sure it is not the case at the present time. 

Public spirit is beginning to make itself manifest, and will 
grow as our citizens seethe results arising from public effort 
and enterprise. 

Our Oakland harbor is second to none in the whole state 
of California, but it has been allowed to remain almost 
unused for the important puqiosefor which nature intended, 
simply because a soulless corporation, pursuing a dog-in-the- 
manger polic}', claimed a narrow stripof the harbor frontage 



This will happen during the next ten years. 

Another enterprise Oakland needs is the advent of a 
com] )eting line of railroad. This we will have by the new 
San Joaquin Valley Railroad, which of necessity must pass 
through or near Oakland. The awakening public spirit 
will demand and receive from the federal government a 
new post-office site and building, a custom-house, and the 
speedy dredging of the harbor where necessary, and the 
completion of the tidal canal. 

Oakland must see to it that a large and commodious hotel 
is erected for the proper accommodation of the traveling 
jjublic. 



62 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



Our public spirit wIH demand that the boulevard be com- 
pleted around Lake Merritt on an equitable adjustment of 
the cost between the landowners and the city of Oakland. 
This will attract many to our city and is needed at once. 

Before ten years, yes, before five years from date, the 
West Oakland marsh will be a thing of the past, and in its 
stead will be good land filled to the level of the surrounding 
territory. 

We will, during this and the ne.xt decade, experience a 
revival and enlargement of our manufacturing interests. 
This will be the result of the conclusion of the water front 
controversy, the advent of the competing railroad, the 
opening of the Corral Hollow coal mines. 

These mines will send their coal in immense quantities to 
large bunkers to be erected witliin the city of Oakland. 



the Athens of the Pacific, and it is my sincere hope that I 
may be permitted to contribute in a small way to the 
upbuilding of this beautiful city of homes, churches, and 
schools. 



WINE CULTURE. 



BY THEODORE GIER. 



In the production of a high quality of wine, two things 
are absolutely necessary: A proper soil and favorable cli- 
mate. These are the first requisites. After that comes the 




Qiersberg Vineyard, Livermore Valley, Theo. Qier, Proprietor. 



Before ten years shall h;ive passed, the territory lying 
between Oakland and Berkeley, as well as the latter town, 
will be included within the limits of Oakland, which will 
number at that time no less than 150,000. 

At that time the new stone city hall will have been com- 
pleted, an ornament to the city, and one of which we or any 
city may be proud. 

Another prediction I make advisedly is that, long before 
ten years shall have passed, we shall appreciate more highly 
than we do now our civic duties, and understand our obliga- 
tions to the community in which we dwell, by seeing to it 
that we elect men qualified to fill our offices, and men who 
will really represent faithfully and honestly the community 
in which we dwell. 

Oakland has a grand future. It will continue ever to be 



judicious selection of vines, and then the most careful manip- 
ulation of the product from the time the grapes leave the 
vine until it has passed through all the various operations of 
feiTnentation, blending, ageing, and clarifying. 

The numerous medals that have been awarded the wines 
of Alameda County in competition with American as well 
as foreign wines, both in America and in Europe, and the 
flattering commendations of connoisseurs, have established 
beyond a doubt the n.itural fitness of both soil and climate 
to the production of the highest grades of wines, especially 
of the Sauterne and Cabernet types. It is with pride that 
we speak of the numerous medals that were awarded our 
wines at the Paris Exposition in 1889, and latterly at our 
own Columbian E.xposition in 1893. The encouragement 
of our achievements has given the industry renewed impetus, 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



63 



and shown possibilities of greater success than was con- 
ceived of. 

The marvel is not that we should e\-entually attain supe- 
riority, but that we should in the infancy of our industry reach 
such a degree of perfection that we can command exceptional 
notice when in competition with the highest grade of products 
from the oldest vineyards in the world. 

It is a known fact that the older the vineyard is the better 
will be the quality of wine produced. Yet from our young 
vines and our limited experience we are producing wines 
that are held in the highest 
favor by those who have other 
means of judging of quality 
than by the labels upon the 
bottles. 

It is a sad commentary upon 
the American wine drinkers 
that dealers at times, in order 
to get the higher grades upon 
the market, have been com- 
pelled to sell them under foreign 
labels. I have known of the 
higher grades of Alameda 
County wines being sold in the 
New York markets at enonnous 
prices under foreign labels. 

In my opinion the time is not 
far distant when California will 
supersede the world in wines, 
and Alameda County will be in 
the foreground. 

I have been associated with 
the production of wines the 
greater portion of my life, and 
have had experience in other 
parts of the state, but believe 
Alameda County to have su- 
perior advantages both in soil 
and climate to most any other 
locality, especially in the pro- 
duction of the French varieties 
of Sauterne and Cabernet types. 

In 1892, in company with 
two gentlemen from Rhode 
Island, by the names of Barker 

and Chesbro, I traveled through Germany and Austria, 
visiting the leading wineries, inspecting their methods, and 
studying their wines, with a view of acquiring such infor- 
mation as might be of service in this country, and brought 
back much valuable knowledge, some of ■\\hich I have been 
able to put to practical use; but, on account of the differ- 
ence of our soil and climate, everything must be modified 
to suit our conditions. In my vineyard at Livermore I 
have in bearing about seventy-five acres, and am now adding 
about thirty acres more. 

I have 113 different varieties of grapes in all, many of The Oakland library has 30,000 volumes. 




which are for experiaiental purposes. Among (he above 
varieties from which my finer grades of Vi'ine are produced 
are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Verdot, Petit 
Surah, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Petite Pinot, Petite 
Bouchet, FoUe Blanche, Muscatel du Bordelaise, Mataro, 
and Zinfandel. With two or three exceptions these grapes 
have been imported from France with a view of producing 
the Sauterne and Cabernet types, so popular among wine 
drinkers, and our success has far e.xceeded our expectations. 
There are in Livermore Valley about four thousand acres 

of producing vines, and the out- 
put last year in round numbers 
was 1,000,000 gallons. 

While we may pride our- 
selves on what we have accom- 
plished, I believe greater suc- 
cess awaits us, but it will only 
come through diligent and per- 
sistent effort. The man who 
is easily satisfied may be con- 
tent with the present state of 
'levelopment, but the ambitious 
man will not rest until he has 
achieved the greatest possibili- 
ties, that come only by un- 
daunted courage and persistent 
L.bor. We should not cease 
• ur experimenting, but every 
\ineyardist should set apart a 
portion of his vineyard to be 
devoted to experimental pur- 
poses, and this should receive 
his closest attention. 

It will only be through such 
methods that we will eventually 
reach the ultimatum of perfec- 
tion. 



IRRIGATION. 



Entrance to Wine Cellar at Giersberg Vineyard, 



The question of irrigation 
bears small relationship to agri- 
culture in Alameda County, 
yet irrigation means a great 
deal to the farmer. The east- 
ern idea is that the reason a man irrigates his land is because 
the land is poor. That is a mistake. The richest land on 
earth will produce more crops and yield a greater volimie if 
irrigated. Irrigation is always a blessing, and when prop- 
erly done in hay-making sections is the means of obtaining 
three or four crops — a thing that is never thought of in the 
east. Irrigation means all the water one needs at the right 
time in the right spot. It never is too dry or too wet in 
an irrigation district. 



64 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



"LET THERE BE LIGHT." 



BY JOHN A. BRITTON. 
[Secretary and manager Oakland Gas, Light and Heat Company.] 



There are three essentials in the government ol munici- 
palities to the health and welfare of its citizens, — a good 
supply of pure water, perfect sanitation, and the proper 
illumination of its thoroughfares and dwellings; and as essen- 
tial necessities they stand in the order named. 

I purpose writing on the subject of lighting alone. Light is 
the creator of life. When chaos was, light was not; when 
light is not, then life is not, and chaos comes again. Crime 



used for illumination of streets in London, England. Its 
use was met with derision, and failure of such a substitute 
for oil predicted; but until 1S7S it steadily increased in use, 
and as a means of illumination almost entirely supplanted 
other agents. Li that year the first lighting of electric arc 
lamps was given in Paris. And to-day electricity is a for- 
midable competitor of gas, accomplishing in eighteen years 
a place that it took gas sixty-eight to occupy. 

The Oakland Gas Co. commenced operation in 1866, 
obtaining a franchise from the city council. Our city was 
at that time a hamlet of a few souls and fewer improved 
streets, and less than thirty-five gas lamps served to dispel 
the gloom. But as the city grew, and its natural beauty 




Office and Building of the Oaldand Cas, Light and Heat Co. 



and disease run rampant under the cover of darkness; and 
this is not only true of the body physical, but also of the 
body politic. 

The prosperity of a city or town, and the intelligence, 
wealth, and welfare of its inhabitants, is marked by the 
illumination of its thoroughfares. 

In ancient times, when sank the sun to rest, the glow- 
worm lighted the weary traveler's way, or the reflected light 
of stars taught his footsteps the path, the blazing torch or 
the flickering lamp at times sufficed, on gala days huge 
bonfires blazed, and at best the darkness was but visible. 
The most primitive lamps were probably skulls of animals 
in which fat was burned, and no especial improvements were 
made until the present century. 

About A. D. 1 8 10 gas was first distilled from coal and 



and attractiveness brought increased population, fine ave- 
nues were opened up, homes increased in number, and 
1,000 gas lamps were found to be necessary in 1884 to 
supply the inhabitants with light for their feet. In that year 
the electric arc lamp was first used for commercial purposes, 
and, what seemed then passing strange, was introduced by 
the gas company. It was not, however, until 1886 that arc 
lamps were used for street illumination, the opinion prevail- 
ing that the low light alTorded by gas was superior to the 
high light from electric arcs. This feeling was soon over- 
come, and to-day the 1,000 gas lamps have dwindled to a 
meager 90, while there are required 422 arc lamps to light 
the same territory, while the incandescent lamp (first used 
in the United States in 1880) is freely used for house 
lighting. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



65 



The pnce of gas in 1867, in Oakland, was $7.50 per 
thousand cubic feet, while to-day it is selling for $2.00. To 
provide illumination for the city a plant with an invested 
capital of $3,000,000 is necessary, and more than 150 miles 
of pipe, and as many miles of wire are used; 120 men are 
employed at an average daily wage of $2.50, while thousands 
of dollars per annum are expended in the purchase of neces- 
sary supplies. 

Although not generally classed as such, and the omission 
in statistics I claim to be unfair, a gas or electric light works 
is as much of a manufactory as any other industry; as a 
rule it employs more men, pays better wages, and expends 
more capital than any other establishment, and is a promi- 
nent factor in the growth and development of a city. Its 
owners are usually local men and women, having the interest 
of their home place at heart, and when the product of their 
manufactory is made for home consumption, it should receive 
support. Capital invested and maintained in any munici- 
pality is its life; throttled, and the laboring class becomes the 
sufferer; destroyed, and an integral part of your govern- 
ment is lost. The oppression of capital becomes the 
depression of labor; proper provision by law should of 
course be made that capital does not become arbitrary in its 
dealings; but the dollar of capital is justly entitled to the 
same fair return, and no more, as the dollar of labor, and, 
contrary to general impression, it does not always receive it. 

The principal cities and towns of our country are fairly 
well supplied with artificial light. 

Alameda has a municipal system of electric arc illumina- 
tion for its streets, gas supplied for commercial purposes 
having been introduced in 1877. This garden spot for resi- 
dences was one of the first cities to adopt electricity for 
street purposes. 

Berkeley is also enjoying, in common with Alameda, the 
advantage of electricity for street illumination, and gas for 
house lighting, and in both places the incandescent electric 
light is available for house use. Gas was first used there 
in 1877. 

Haywards and Livermore are lighted by electricity, while 
San Leandro will soon be, gas being used at present for all 
purposes. 

Not the least of the uses to which gas is put is its appli- 
cation for heat and power. Gas stoves and gas engines are 
a product of the last decade, and are fast supplanting coal. 
The use of gas for purposes of this character is recommended 
because of the absence of the inconvenience of dust, dirt, 
and ashes. Economically managed a gas stove can do the 
household work at a less cost than coal, and its war cry of, 
"No soot, no ashes," is being at last appreciated. Gas 
engines of from 5 to 500 horse-power are being used for all 
purposes, their compactness, safety, and economy being 
their recommendations. 

The capital invested in the lighting business in our state 
amounts to $22,500,000; the humber of men employed, 
to 3,000, and the yearly expense of maintenance, to $10,- 
000,000. Surely this is an investinent that should be 
fostered. 



I venture the statement that not one per cent of the pop- 
ulation of any city supplied with gas or electricity has any 
conception of the money invested for that purpose, nor of 
the outlays made in that line of business. It seems to them 
all income and no outgo; nor do they appreciate how much 
the endowment of science owes to the demand of the times 
for more light. It would not be credited if told, that one- 
third of the invested working capital of this country was 
invested in lighting enterprises, — the manufactories that make 
dynamos, engines, boilers, and wire, the coal mines, and 
oil wells that sell their product, the merchants, artisans, and 
professional men that directly and indirectly depend on 
plants for support, and the laborers that earn their daily 
bread in all these enterprises, and in the development of 
this great business of producing light. It would seem as if 
an all-wise and beneficent Providence had provided a way 
for the increasing population. 

I can not close this article without reference to a growing 
evil, namely, the attempt of municipalities to embark in the 
business of public ownership of lighting plants. To that as 
a principle I am strongly opposed. Where no private 
plant is in operation it would seem reasonable for the govern- 
mental authorities to create their own works; but for a city 
to embark in the lighting business, in opposition to capital 
honestly invested, strikes at the bulwarks of our liberties, 
and is in contravention of our constitution, which expressly 
states that private property shall not be taken except, etc. 

The operation of a public plant in opposition is a direct 
confiscation of property, not justified by the age in which 
we live. 

The streams of our mountains are being harnessed, and 
the coal mines in our country are being utilized for the 
production of that 

"Prime cheerer, light, 
Of all material tilings first and best, 
Without wliose vested beauty all were wrapt 
In oflooni." 



& 


%M 


1 


^m^ 




i» 


m- 


^m 


i^g^^Ki 






?^'; 


i^gKOi 






Pi'- , 


r:;;^..-^ -W- 


mrw ^ 


f'i' >' 


mt 


mS S, • ■*'i-'^ 


HBBp"'-*'*CTH»y ^ 


m^ 


''4 


mw -^^^ 




mj' ^'" 


■ - 


'*'%l'.t*':. 


.ipl 




y 




i^W 


L>r .iv 


HIE:. 




t^:,^'- 


f- ; ^ • 


■f' ■' ' » 





Palm Tree at Residence of H. W. Meek, Haywards. 



66 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



THE NEW OAKLAND. 



BY ROBERT F. COYLE, D. D. 



Cities are very much like men; they come to have an 
individuality of their own. No two are alike. As they 
get away from the village period of development, their 
signs are out and can be easily read. Certain clearly-defined 
traits differentiate them from one another. Some are 
enterprising and progressive, some conservative and slow, 
some sleepy and stupid, and plastered all o^'er with, 
''To let." 

One does not need to sniff the odor of the Chicago River, 
or of its immense piggeries, as a New Yorker contemptu- 
ously styled its huge pork-pack- 
ing establishments, to realize that 
he is in the Garden City. As he 
walks through its streets, he be- 
comes conscious of its vim at every 
step; it is impossible not to feel 
its pulse and throb. Nor does one 
need, I am told, to experience a 
London fog to know that he is in 
the metropolis of the world. 

In the case of young cities, 
their individuality develops faster 
or slower according to circum- 
stances. Push a boy out very 
early into life to hoe his own row, 
and he acquires individuality very 
rapidly, and especially if there is 
anything of promise in him to start 
with. Not so the lad who is 
petted and pampered at home, 
propped up and supported by 
his father, humored and helped 
and coddled. There is nothing 
distinctive and original about 
him, and never will be until he launches 

Now this may illustrate roughly the position of Oakland 
for many years; it has leaned up against San Francisco, out 
of which it has sucked its life, and has therefore partaken of 
the characteristics of a dependent. For a long time there 
was no self-assertion, no outputting of a separate organic life. 

But within the last decade the suburban temper has been 
passing away. There has been an awakening of a city con- 
sciousness, and with it a corresponding growth of individu- 
ality. Our citizens are beginning to take an interest in 
Oakland politics; they are coming to realize that, whether 
for trade or amusement, it is no longer necessary to go to 
San Francisco. Public spirit is gradually growing more 
pervasive and controlling, and the day is not far distant 
when beautiful Oakland will have a character of its own 
quite as pronounced and distinguishing as its bigger sister 
over the bay. This developing individuality is a fact big 
with promise. 




Artesian Well at Alvarado, Belonging to the Oakland Water Co., 
from Which Water Is Brought to Oakland. Bored in 1894. 

out for himself. 



There are some things which make it comparatively safe 
to predict for Oakland a brilliant future. Some two or 
three years ago a well-known gentleman of this city, a level- 
headed, prosperous business man, remarked to me that he 
expected to live to see Oakland as large a city as San 
Francisco. How long he counted on continuing in the 
flesh he did not say. Some conservatives might be dis- 
posed to charge him with being a little too visionary; 
perhaps he was. But when one reflects soberly upon Oak- 
land's splendid advantages, it does not seem like an opti- 
mistic or Utopian dream to look forward to a not-distant 
time when in population and in commercial importance it 
will be neck and neck with the city of San Francisco. 

Certainly, if there is anything in location, we have that. 
We are at the natural conti- 
■ nental terminus of all the railroads 

which will yet converge to this 
part of the coast. Before us is 
one of the safest and most spa- 
cious harbors in the world. Be- 
hind us, over the foot-hills, are 
immense valleys, with unlimited 
possibilities. The teeming popu- 
lation which before many years 
will fill those valleys, will seek 
some convenient market and dis- 
tributing point for their products; 
and where will they be likely to 
find one more convenient than 
Oakland? When our water front 
controversy has been decided in 
our favor, as in justice it must be, 
our local trade will quicken its 
pace immensely, values will in- 
crease, manufactories spring up, 
electric roads penetrate the hills, 
tapping the rural districts, and 
bringing their products this way, 
to the mutual advantage of both city and country. Besides, 
the location of Oakland is picturesque. It is only necessary 
to go back to Vernon Heights, or Linda Vista, or Piedmont, 
and look down upon our city from any one of those points 
to appreciate the fact that it is beautiful for situation; there 
is nothing finer on the continent. The view from the foot- 
hills can not be surpassed in America. 

Moreover, it is a healthful city, remarkably so. Its death 
rate ranks among the very lowest of the cities of the United 
States: a fact which ought, and no doubt will, count for a 
good deal in building up the city. Our climate is free from 
the extremes either of heat or cold, and the air is bracing 
enough to stimulate to enterprise and endeavor. 

In addition to all this, our schools and churches and insti- 
tutions of learning are bound to play an important part in 
bringing in the Oakland of the future. We are justly 
proud of them ; for they are to-day much superior to those 
which are to be found in many a more pretentious city. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



67 



Not only, therefore, from the material point of view, but 
from the point of view of culture and education, and all that 
belongs to the higher life, Oakland has the elements which 
will yet make of it a great city. 

What it needs to hasten its greatness is more esprit dti 
corps. Every Oaklander should talk up his city ; he should 
sound its praises; and he certainly can do it with a good 
conscience. This is the spirit that has made Chicago what 
it is. Every man who hves in the Garden City conceives it 
to be his duty to "boom" Chicago, and he does it in no 
measured terms. Our city should be thoroughly advertised 
in the east. 

Long before I came to California I was the frequent recipi- 
ent of circulars and pamphlets from Los Angeles, setting forth 
the attractions and glories of that region; and who shall say 
how much that very thing has done to make Los Angeles 
what it is to-day? But I never saw a pamphlet or a circu- 
lar about Oakland until I came to it. A wiser expenditure 
of money than to invest in advertising of the kind just indi- 
cated, we could hardly make. Let our fair city be made 
known; let its advantages of location, of climate, of health- 
fulness, of education and religion, be heralded abroad, and 
very much will be done to hasten the coming of the greater 
Oakland which is to be. 



TEN YEARS IN OAKLAND. 



BY REV. E. S. CHAPMAN, D. D. 



If the future progress of Oakland and vicinity is to be 
like that which I have witnessed during the past decade, 
it will soon surpass all the hopes of its most sanguine friends. 
It seems to me like a fairy tale as I retrospect these ten 
eventful years. It was in September, 18S5, that my resi- 
dence in this city began. Times were then dull throughout 
the countr)', but in 1887 an era of prosperity began in 
Oakland, which has continued until the present time, not- 
withstanding the universal business depression in all the 
country during the past three and a half years. It will be 
seen that the decade of which I speak, from 1885 to 1895, 
includes less than five years of prosperous times in the 
country at large. 

There were very few well-paved streets in Oakland in 
18S5, and the sidewalks were, if possible, in a worse con- 
dition than the streets. In East Oakland the walks were 
constructed of pine boards laid parallel with the streets. 
These well-worn and partly decayed boards would bend 
beneath the weight of an ordinary person, and during the 
rainy season the water beneath them would often leap glee- 
fully up to unwelcome altitudes, beneath the garments of the 
surprised and disgusted pedestrians. I have vivid recollec- 
tions of many such uplifting experiences while on the 
rounds of pastoral duties, or when on my way to or from 
the house of worship. When I engaged the house in which 
we first lived in East Oakland; the owner was engaged in 



improving the property by constructing artificial stone 
walks. It was the only work of the kind then in progress 
in that part of the city, and as I now remember, it was the 
only section of cement walk in East Oakland. The streets 
and walks in central Oakland were of a similar character, 
with more of cement in the business portions and very much 
of coarse rough gravel walks in the residence portions. 
How unlike the condition then is what we see and enjoy 
to-day! Finely graded and solidly paved streets, bordered 
by smooth cement walks, traverse every part of the city, 
and extend far out into new tracts that have been opened 
up and occupied. There are now very few blocks in any 
part of the city which are not surrounded by well-paved 
streets and broad cement walks. So universal is this con- 
dition that the remembrance of former times seems like the 
recollection of a terrible dream. 

Street-car lines were very few, and of limited extent, in 
18S5, and upon these only horse-cars were in use. But one 
line connected East Oakland with the central portion of the 
city, and a slow-moving half-hourly horse-car struggled in 
unprofitable competition with the free local train. But, as 
upon the swift wings of a vision, this condition has all van- 
ished, and in its place there has come as by magic the most 
extensive, complete, and efficient electric car system and 
service enjoyed by any city in the United States, of the 
size of Oakland. More than two and a half million dollars 
were expended in the construction and equipment of 150 
miles of electric roads in this city during the brief period of 
about five years. These finely-constructed electric lines trav- 
erse every section of the city, and extend for miles out into 
the surrounding countr}% and to adjacent towns and villages. 
From my home on Bella Vista Avenue there can be seen 
at night the beautifully-lighted cars on six electric lines. 
]\Iany an hour, "in the gloaming" and later, I have watched 
these fiery chariots as they seemed to glide on magic pin- 
ions, bearing their precious freightage of human life in so 
many different directions, and they have seemed like so 
many heavenly messengers, bearing good tidings and 
blessings to our race. And these nightly visions have been 
preceded and accompanied by daily concerts of the sweetest 
music ever heard on earth — not the music of human voices 
blended in almost divine harmony, nor the music of skilfully- 
constructed instruments swept by deft and artful fingers, but 
the music of human toil and industry, the sound of pick and 
shovel, and the frequent roar and reverberation of mighty 
blasts tearing the needed paving rocks from the adjacent 
hills. To the heart that loves our race, there is no music 
so sweet, so inspiring, as these tuneful tones of human prog- 
ress, and for years the city of Oakland has been one grand 
concert hall, in which that music has been daily heard. 
Three times a daj" — in the morning and evening at six, and 
at high noon — is heard the deep-toned and repeated boom, 
and here and there the clouds of smoke are seen rising from 
the quarries upon the slopes and summits of the neighboring 
hills. 

The initiati\e in this material progress was taken by the 



68 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



churches in building new houses of worship. Ten years ago 
there was not in East Oakland a respectable church building, 
save the Catholic Church. The Presbyterians, Methodists, 
Episcopalians, and Baptists had for a quarter of a century 
or more had church organizations, and had attained consid- 
erable strength, but they were still worshiping in the little, 
unattractive, old churches of other years. Each of these 
denominations has now a large and beautiful house of wor- 
ship. A Congregational Church has been organized, and they 
too have built a fine house of worship. In 1887 the Brook- 
lyn Presbyterian Church in East Oakland were worshiping 
in a church which, with the lot on which it stood, they have 
since sold for $3,000. That same year they took possession 
of a new church property worth not less than $40,000. 
With other churches the advancement was of a similar 
character. During this period there were organized in 
East Oakland three Methodist, two Presbyterian, one Bap. 
tist, and one Congregational Churches, who built new 
church houses, and the Baptists founded and built up into 
strength and efficiency the California College. 

In other portions of Oakland the progress in church 
building has been quite similar to that in East Oakland. In 
central Oakland the Y. M. C. A. has erected a magnifi- 
cent building, with all modern departments and conve- 
niences. 

This decade has also been distinguished for the number 
of new and costly schoolhouses that have been erected. 
Nine magnificent schoolhouses, of the most recent and 
approved style of architecture, and with every modem con- 
venience, have been erected, which, with rooms added to 
other buildings, cost about half a million dollars, and provide 
accommodations for 8,000 scholars. Very few cities can 
show such a record within one decade. 

There is one respect in which I can not claim that much 
progress has been made, and that is in the matter of health. 
During the first five years of our residence in Oakland, not 
one scholar in my large and flourishing Sunday school was 
called away by death. I used every year to attend many 
children's funerals in the east, sometimes two in one day, 
often two or three in one week; but I lived in Oakland, 
with its thousands of little io\ks,, for jive years vi'i'CixonX. being 
once called to minister at a child's funeral. Almost as 
infrequent were the funerals of adults in the prime of life. 
Only nine times in six years was the membership of my 
church visited by death, and, with 07ily one exception, they 
they were all cases of death caused by accident, or by dis- 
eases contracted before coming to this coast, or by old age. 
One young man died in the prime of life, and from sickness, 
during those six years. My own health and that of my 
family has been far better during our residence in Oakland 
than at any other period in our lives. And I have been 
able to work more vigorously and constantly than ever before. 
Only three sabbaths in five years have I been out of the 
pulpit, and not once in eight years from illness. And much 
of that time I have preached three times each Lord's day. 
Our climate, "never hot and never cold," is so invigorating 
that one can work with \-ery little weariness. 



OAKLAND MUSICALLY CONSIDERED. 



BY A. M. BENHAM. 



The discovery of gold brought the early settlers to Cali- 
fornia, hence the descendants of the pioneers are a material- 
istic people, and the talk of the street is gold, silver, fruit, 
cattle, hogs, gas, oil, electricity, transportation, interest, 
investments, etc. But while these subjects have largely 
engrossed the attention, at the same time a mighty art revo- 
lution has been silently but steadily going on, and many 
have been lifted above the materialistic into higher 
spheres of thought, feeling, and expression. A number of 
our Oakland musicians have been favorably recognized in 
the art centers of Europe and the east. Not a few are now 
pursuing their advanced musical studies abroad. Several 
of our local teachers are graduates of the first musical con- 
servatories of Europe, and have enjoyed the best musical 
opportunities the world offers. Our musical composers are 
attracting attention, and not a few creditable songs and instru- 
mental compositions are the work of Oakland authors. 

We have an oratorio society and large chorus choirs in 
our churches, ably conducted and with well-stocked libraries. 
The Orpheus Club, numbering fifty male voices, well bal- 
anced and trained to the most delicate forms of musical 
expression, give several concerts each season, to large 
audiences of subscribing members. In musical art we are 
awake and are building on foundations broad and deep. It 
is no longer necessary for our sons and daughters (to whom 
we must look for the future of art in Oakland) to go abroad 
for average musical culture. It will take time for our art 
tree to come to full fruitage ; but our climate, our surround- 
ings, and our cosmopolitan composition, are all conducive 
to the highest forms of art. 

We have the passion of Italy, the grace and beauty of 
Spain, the vivacity of France, the pathos of Russia, the 
massiveness of Germany, and the strength and humor of 
Britain; all of which in combination should give us a distinct 
art life, born of beauty, strength, and originality. I can not 
do better than to close this article as I did a previous one, 
with the words of the distinguished English musical critic, 
Joseph Bennett: — 

"The whole civilized world is pouring ingredients into 
the American furnace. What will come in the day when 
the nation takes its mould ? Who can tell, save that in all 
probability it will be something rich and strange. So, from 
this new amalgam of humanity, may arise forms of art such 
as the world has ne\'er yet looked upon. ' ' And may its 
favored home be Oakland, the "Athens of the Pacific." 



Alameda is a hopping hop-raising county, and those that 
have hopped into the business have hopped into a good 
income season after season. Hop lands range in value from 
$30 an acre up, according to the distance from the nearest 
shipping point. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



69 



COMPARATIVE VALUES. 



SOME OAKLAND COMPARISONS. 



BY HENRY P. DALTOX. 

[Assessor of Alameda County.] 



There is neither poetry nor music in figures, nor can it 
be proven that statistical data of any character has ever yet 
been so compiled as to read the least bit romantic. 

However, figures are always interesting to those who love 
to see the growth of communities, and it is in harmony with 
that idea that I consented to submit the following tables for 
this publication. There has been a steady increase in the 
assessed values of property throughout the county for the 
past thirty years, but in order to keep this article within a 
reasonable limit, comparison is made from ten years ago to 
the present time, to wit: — 

Assessment on real estate other than city lots: — 

1885 $14,161,072 

1895 18,327,575 

Increase $4,166,503 

Improvements on same: — 

1885 $2,392,470 

1895 3.480,525 

Increase $1,088,055 

City and town lots: — 

1885 $20,430,241 

1895 40,337,500 

Increase $19,907,259 

Improvements on the above: — 

1885 $11,617,407 

1895 22,400,390 

Increase $10,782,983 

Personal property other than money and solvent credits: — 

1885 $5,837,989 

!' 1895 9,109,800 

Increase $3,271,811 

Money and solvent credits: — 

Assessed 1885 $105,038 

Assessed 1895 484,782 

Increase $379,744 

Amount of mortgage deductions: — 

'885 $10,925,774 

1895 20,921,375 

Increase $9,995,601 

Total assessed value of county: — 

1885 $54,544,217 

1895 94,140,572 

Increase $39,596,355 

It will be seen from the above that there has been a 
healthy increase in taxable values all over the county. 



A few pieces of business property— land only. 


Elk. 

175 
190 
175 
190 
175 
190 
175 
190 
175 
190 
175 
190 


.\ssessed 
value 
1885. 

$ 19,000 

10,500 

15.400 

112,000 

62,500 

16,000 

27,000 

13,000 

31,000 

5,500 

7,000 

6,250 


Assessed 
value 
1895. 


Increase 
in 10 
years. 


100x100, N. E. cor. Twelfth and Washington 


$ 86,250 
42,500 
68,500 
244,250 
134,375 
52,500 
52,500 
78,750 
58,750 
34,250 
17.500 
42,000 


$ 67,250 
32.000 
53.'oo 
132.250 
71.875 
36,500 
2.5,500 
65,750 
27,750 
28,750 
10,500 
35.750 


looxioo, S. E. cor. Thirteenth and Wasliington 
200x100, W. Broadway, Thirteenth to Fourteenth 
150x100, S. W. cor. Thirteenth and Broadway... 




looxioo. S. E. cor. Fourteenth and Washington. 


50x100, E. Washington north of Thirteenth 


50x100, N. E. cor. Thirteenth and Washington- 


Total 


$325->50 


$912,125 


$586,575 





Note. — The above described land includes the two business blocks bounded by 
Twelfth and Fourteenth, Broadway and Washington Streets, known as blocks 
175 and 190. 

TEN BLOCKS MORE. 

The following ten blocks (200x300 feet each in size) con- 
stitute the best section of business property west of Broad- 
way. The east side of Broadway is not included in this 
table. 



Assessed 
BIk. 1885. 


Assessed 
1896. 


Increase 
inlly'rs. 


117, bounded by 9th and 10th, Washington and Clay 

118, bounded by 9th and loth, Washington and Bdy. 

144, bounded by loth and nth, Washington and Bdy. 

145, bounded by 10th and i ith, Washington and Clay 

157, bounded by nth and 12th, Washington and Clay 

158, bounded by nth and 12th, Washington and Bdv. 

175, bounded by 12th and 13th, Washington and Bdy. 

176, bounded by 12th and 13th, Washington and Clay 

189, bounded by 13th and 14th, Washington and Clay 

190, bounded by 13th and 14th, Washington and Bdy. 


$ 57,200 
190300 
185,860 
49,320 
51.000 
186,000 
161,900 
47.300 
46,900 
163.250 


$194,875 
368,250 
372,400 
193,600 
216,875 
387,500 
441,250 
217,100 
222,350 
494,250 


$137,675 
177,950 
186,540 
144,280 
■65,875 
201,500 
279..MO 
169,800 
175.450 
331.000 


Total 


11,139,030 


$3,108,450 


$1,969,420 



Note. — Broad 
north and south 



way, Washington and Clay are parallel business streets, 
300 feet apart. 



running 



The above valuations are on the la7id onh'. 

The property is all improved with good business build- 
ings, assessed for over $800,000. 

Similar reports could be made of every other city and 
town in the county, but space forbids. 

A PROMISING FUTURE. 

While Oakland is solid to the core in property values, the 
fact should not be overlooked that the county in general 
is growing as well. Where there were but a few thousand 
fruit-bearing trees ten years ago, there are now hundreds of 
thousands of them. The ground in which these trees are 
planted had but slight taxable valuation ten years ago. Now 
that most of these trees are in bearing, the taxable value 
has increased many fold. The figures in my office have not 
been footed up yet as to this year's valuation of orchards in 
general, but it is safe to say there is an agreeable surprise 
awaiting the result. 

The happiest and most contented — most independent — 
citizens of our country are the fruit growers. They bear 
their assessments without a murmur and pay their taxes 
without grumble. There is a good reason for this, however, 
since it is an established fact that the man who owns land in 
Alameda County, and cultivates it, is sure to increase his 
income and the value of his land proportionately. I am not 
given, as a rule, to the dissemination of advice, but if there 
is one suggestion I would urge more than another, it would 
be for every person seeking an investment, whether for a 
dwelling site or business purposes, to invest his money in 
city lots or land in Alameda County. 



70 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



RATES OF TAXATION. 



BY JAMES B. BARBER. 
[Tax Collector, Alameda County.] 



The following are the several amounts of state and county 
ta.xes collected in this office, with the rate given for the past 
ten years: — 

1885,$ 762,615.97, rate $1.05 inside, $1.45 outside. 



1886, 


602,188.44, " 


1. 00 " 


1-25 


1887, 


636,390.76, " 


1. 00 " 


1.30 


t888. 


677,480.70, " 


1. 00 " 


1-25 


1889, 


866,885.55, ' 


' 1. 10 " 


1-45 


1890, 


829,731.27, " 


1. 00 " 


1.30 


1891, 


777,425.68, " 


.85 " 


I-I5 


1892, 


787,252.93, " 


.80 


1. 10 


1893. 


1,031,610.55, " 


1. 00 " 


1-35 


1S94, 


1,035,390-48, " 


' 1. 00 " 


1-35 


1895. 


1,109,813.97, " 1. 18 " 


1-53 


1896, 










Deal, Dumb and Blind Institute, Berkeley 

In addition to which we now have four sanitary districts, 
ta.x amounting to about $1,500,000 yearly. 

The number of ta.x sales for the past fi\"e years was as 
follows: In 1890, 419 sales; 1891, 528; 1892, 807; 1893, 
794; and in 1894, 1,282, the last (1894) being the first year 
under the new law where all delinquent property is sold to 
the state, whereas formerly it was sold to individual pur- 
chasers bidding to take the smallest quantity of land, and 
pay the tax. 

In the year 1890, the system of collection of state and 
county taxes was changed by making the taxes payable 
in installments, the first installment becoming due the 
first Monday of October of each year, and becoming 



delinquent, and a penalty of 15 per cent added the last 
Monday in No\-ember of each year; the second installment 
becoming due and payable the first Monday in January of 
each year, and becoming delinquent and a penalty of five 
per cent being added the last Monday in April of each 
year; and also at this time an additional five per cent is to 
be added to any amount of the first installment that still 
remains unpaid and delinquent. 

Both installments may be paid at the same time, that is 
to say, the taxpayer may pay the second installment at the 
time the first installment is due and payable, if he so desires. 
Also, it must be understood that one-half the tax on 
realty, and the whole tax on personal property, constitutes 
the first installment, and the remaining one-half of the tax 
on realty constitutes the second installment 

Regarding the above described system, I would here 
express my individual opinion as to its benefits or disad- 
vantages. I have collected state, county, and municipal 

taxes for a number of years, 

\ and under both systems, and 
therefore have had the experi- 
j ence to be better able to judge 
• than would a great many who 
have had no opportunity to give 
it the required thought. I re- 
gard the present system as im- 
practicable in many particulars. 
In the first place, it was in- 
tended to assist the small tax- 
payer and also to relieve the 
money market (which was the 
main point in argument, at the 
time this system was adopted), 
in not drawing so much money 
out of circulation at one time; 
but the result has been diflferent; 
as, for example, this year, out 
of a total of $1,110,000 to 
collect in this county, at the 
delinquency of the first install- 
ment the last Monday in No- 
vember there remained only 
about $300,000, showing that a 
very large percentage of the second installment had been 
paid at the time of paying the first. So much for the point 
of relief to the money market. 

Now you will perceive that if the first installment is not 
paid in the short space of eight weeks, a penalty of fifteen 
per cent will be added (that penalty I call a cinch), which I 
declare is not consistant with the point of relieving or assist- 
ing the small taxpayer, necessitating him if he is short to 
either borrow the money or pay the fifteen per cent penalty. 
I would also state that out of the $300,000 remaining to 
collect, fully one-half I should judge is amounts to be 
paid by banks and loan associations, on mortgages, who could 
just as well pay the whole amount at one time; and that fully 



FACTS AND FIGURES 



71 



ten per cent of the $300,000 is amounts belonging to the 
first instalhiienl. 

Another disadvantage is that the taxpayer is continually 
at sea as to whether his tax is paid or not ; he loses this 
receipt and forgets whether he paid one or both install- 
ments, and oftentimes he starts out' to pay both, but just 
at the moment when he pays, he changes his mind and only 
pays the first, and ever after neglects to pay again, thinking 
he has paid all his taxes, to find, a year, or so after, that his 
property has been sold for non-payment of the second 
installment. There are a great many additional ways for 
mistakes to occur in the office which under the best man- 
agement can not be prevented, which entails losses to the 
tax collector and taxpayers which are unjust. 



THE THREE IMPORTANT LINES IN AMERICA. 




"The Bridge," Mills College. 

It costs a great deal more to prepare the books for col- 
lection, and also the collection, and yet does not accomplish 
the desired result. I could go on and give many more rea- 
sons showing the impracticability of the present system, and 
could make suggestions for its improvement, but I am deal- 
ing with the present and not the future in this article. 



Wood and coal costs more here than it does in the east, 
but fuel for heating purposes isn't needed to any great extent. 
This article is being written December 9, in a room without 
fire, and with the windows wide open. This is a warm day; 
parasols by the hundreds can be seen on the streets, and 
many children are barefooted. 



An article on "Oakland's Future," by ex-Mayor W. R. 
Davis, appears elsewhere in this book. The article was 
written for the holiday number of the Oakland Tribwie, and 
was revised somewhat for this book. The following extract 
from Mr. Davis' address on the occasion of the first ex- 
position held in Oakland, was taken from the Etiqnirer, 
but before being published by us was submitted to and cor- 
rected by Mr. Davis, so that both articles may be consid- 
ered new: — 

"Material prosperity lies at the foundation of all other 
prosperities. In poverty there can be no art; in penury, no 
learning. In poverty, penury, and want, there can be no 

maintained and advanced 
civilization. And yet I do 
not forget that, beyond ma- 
terial prosperity and money 
affairs, the end which they 
serve, and to which they are 
but instrumentalities, is the 
life, the growth, the freedom 
and prosperity of human 
beings. The state is not 
made up of acres, nor of 
harvests, nor wealth, nor 
commerce. The state is 
made up of men — of human 
beings. So that whatever 
we do in the way of achieve- 
ment, let us not forget those 
things which make for the 
development of the moral 
and intellectual life and growth of our country. It is 
the 'anima' which animates us that tells — not so much 
the animal, his raiment, his equipage, or his wealth. 
"Think of it; in less than the Hfe of one generation, 
sjnce 1865, this nation has increased in population by 
more than the total population of the nation at the close 
of the war. Then we were only thirty-four millions ; now 
we are seventy millions — over twice that number. In 
that same time California has trebled its population. And 
Oakland has not only trebled her population, but has in- 
creased it sevenfold. This is the prosperity, this is the de- 
velopment, the growth to look to, the human growth of the 
city, the state, and the nation. 

"We are not much, neither are we nothing. 
"We should not underestimate ourselves — no more tnan 
overestimate ourselves. We are of the constituent elements 
and forces that go to constitute population and government, 
that need Republican freedom, its opportunities and constitu- 
tional guarantees. Our own rights and duties are those 
which appertain to freemen upon this continent, with its 
opportunities, duties, and destiny. 'Freemen' is a compre- 
hensive word; it looks upon the slavery, traditions, tyranny, 
and shadows of the past, and also upon the highway, the 



72 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



march, prospect, and liberty of the future, in all things. Of 
that status of freedom and opportunity we are proud, and 
it is to that chiefly we ought to look to-night rather than 
our own local progress or material achievement. I do not 
underestimate these; but we are not to lose sight of the 
other, and of our relations in the perspective of things down 
time, and the later relations of things to-day. 

"This city, if it will but persevere in the course it has 
taken in the last year, will within five years surprise itself 
Within the present year three evidences of contributive 
cooperation have been shown in this city. I refer first to 
the voluntary contributions of numerous citizens of this town 
securing a quarter of million dollars to aid in the bringing 
of a new competitive railroad into this city. I also refer to 
what happened in this city last May, when a i^w men and 
women united their efforts to aid the Fabiola Hospital, one 
of our best charities, by whose exertions, and your support, 
it was made possible to hold the finest florer fete which has 
ever been held upon the Pacific Coast. 

"And, third, here is this splendid industrial exposition, 
conceived of, reahzed, and held within thirty days. This is 
cooperation. This is elbow to elbow in the march of munic- 
ipal progress. Let us stand by it — continue it in 1896, 
and every year until the end of this century, so that in 1900 
it may be truly said of Oakland that she is the first city on 
the Pacific Coast, in the harmony and cooperative strength 
of her inhabitants. 

' 'To do that we can not be whispering about one another. 
No courageous man whispers about his opponent. When 
such men differ, they stand face to face, eye to eye, and clash 
honest steel upon honest steel, and then the flash and blows 
are honorable. Let us out-countenance the whispering 
down of progressive men in the community, and uphold the 
hand of every man who lifts his hand for the advancement 
of this city's welfare. No man has a right to whisper down 
the good name of his city, no more than he has the right to 
whisper against the good name of a member of his own 
family. . 

"I suggest one other thought. There are three great 
lines of development in this nation. One is along the 
Atlantic seacoast. Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Char- 
leston are on that line. That is the stretch where land and 
water meet upon the eastern shore of this continent. The 
second line of civilization is also where land and water meet, 
down the center of our country, on the waters of the Missis- 
sippi. It is outlined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, to the north; 
Chicago, Burlington, and such cities, in the center; by St. Louis 
further down, and New Orleans at the south. These mean 
that significant line of American development and strength 
running down through the midland of this nation. And 
the third — in that we li\'e, in that we move, and have our 
own being. What shall that living and that commonwealth 
be? This line is Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, to the north; 
San Francisco and Oakland in the center; Los Angeles and 
San Diego to the south — the third great line of American 
progress and civilization. Here, too, land and water meet. 



"Shall we, here in Oakland, not be some part — a little, 
but still some part — of the recognizable and progressive 
forces that shall go to make up the power of this third line 
of national development, the Pacific Coast line of real 
American progress? The whole world knows of Athens 
and of her province, Attica, in Greece. But few remem- 
ber that all Athens and Attica are not as large as the single 
county of Alameda. One imprint of the hoof of devastation 
upon Attica would have obliterated her from the map, her 
people fi"om the earth, and her shining name from the rec- 
ord of the world' s civilization. 

"And yet Athens and Attica shine on to-day as they 
shone two thousand years ago. Empire coming down 
through the nations touched the sacred soil of Attica with 
the luminous torch of civilization, since when the inextin- 
guishable light of her philosophy, letters, art, and progress, 
has fallen upon and gilded all the recorded pages of man's 
advancement, as through the centuries they have been 
turned from right to left in the great record book of human 
history. 

"We may never be an Athens or an Attica, but we can 
be a sturdy Oakland, in a splendid California, contributing 
some growth and strength, some cooperative aid, to our 
commonwealth, our people, our land, upon which may the 
Almighty's favor ever descend, against which no power on 
earth shall prevail, neither by diplomacy, nor strategem, 
nor arms. 



TABLE OF DISTANCES. 



The distance from Oakland, the county seat of Alameda 
County, to each of the other county seats of California, is 
as follows: — 

County seat. Miles. 

Alpine, Markleeville 308 

Amador, Jackson 146 

Butte, Oroville 164 

Calaveras, San Andreas 136 

Colusa, Colusa 133 

Contra Costa, Martinez 30 

Del Norte, Crescent City 268 

El Dorado, Placerville 142 

Fresno, Fresno , ,....201 

Glenn, Willows 145 

Humboldt, Eureka 210 

Inyo, Independence 555 

Kern, Bakersfield 209 

Kings, Hanford 258 

Lake, Lakeport 118 

Lassen, Susanville 277 

Los Angeles, Los Angeles 476 

Marin, San Rafael 18 

Mariposa, Mariposa 187 

Mendocino, Ukiah 114 

Merced, Merced 146 

Modoc, Alturas 193 

Mono, Bridgeport 441 

Monterey, Salinas City 118 

Madera, Madera 179 

Napa, Napa City 40 



FACTS AND FIGURES 



73 



Nevada, Nevada City loo 

Orange, Santa Ana 508 

Placer, Auburn 120 

Plumas, Quincy 311 

Riverside, Riverside 546 

Sacramento, Sacramento 86 

San Benito, Hollister 94 

San Bernardino, San Bernardino 537 

JSan Diego, San Diego , 655 

San Francisco, San Francisco 6 

San Joaquin, Stockton 86 

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo 246 

San Mateo, Redwood City 35 

Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara 530 

Santa Clara, San Jose 50 

Santa Cruz, Santa Crviz 8r 

Shasta, Shasta 234 

Sierra, Downieville 203 

Siskiyou, Yreka 351 

Solano, Fairfield 45 

Stanislaus, Modesto 108 

Sutter, Yuba City 155 

Sonoma, Santa Rosa 57 

Tehama, Red Bluff. 193 

Trinity, Weaverville 274 

Tulare, Visalia 244 

Tuolumne, Sonora 151 

Ventura, San Buenaventura 310 

Yolo, Woodland 80 

Y'uba, Marj'sville 136 



OAKLAND'S FUTURE, AND WHY. 



Ex-Mayor W. R. Davis Draws Logical Deductions from 

the Present. 



To the Editor — 

Three thousand words you want upon "Tlie Future of 
Oakland." Two thousand must suffice. The classic ora- 
cles, in order to be safe, clothed their prophecies in fewer 
words, and those ambiguous and elastic enough to fit the 
future event, whether it turned out to be a giant or a dwarf. 

No forecast is worthy of reliance unless it is tlie projec- 
tion forward of forces and factors traceable from the past or 
recognizable in the present. We have such factors. From 
these this forecast is made. They are six. 

SIX GROUNDS OF FORECAST. 

1. Naturally, the ground, the room, thecHmate, navigable 
water, and the surrounding eastern approach being favorable, 
and on the continental side of the bay, it stands to reason 
that such a city, comprising now, with its suburbs and 
immediate neighbors, 100,000 inhabitants, is going to be 
both populous and great later on. The continuance and 
projection of the old forces alone assure that fact. 

COMPARATIVE GROWTH. 

2. The steady growth of the nation — an increase of over 




Young rien's Christian AssocUtion Building. 



74 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



35,000,000 population during the last thirty years — is go- 
ing to contribute its quota to California in increasing ratio 
as the population east becomes more dense, opportunities 
less accessible, and the resulting struggle fiercer. Expecta- 
tion has a right to figure on the continuance and projection 
of that factor. Of course there can be no considerable 
growth of population in California that does not mean 
material growth for Oakland and its environs. Let us ob- 
serve footprints in the figures: — 
Population of the United States — 

la 1865 34,000,000 

In 1870 38,500,000 

In 1880 50,155,000 

In 1890 62,600,000 

In 1895 70,000,000 



Oakland gained in population? how has she grown in com- 
parison with the national growth and the state growth? The 
fects tell. 

Population of Oakland — 

In 1865 (with Clinton, Brooklyn and San Antonio)... 8,000 
In 1S70 (with Clinton, Brooklyn and San Antonio)... 11, 000 

In 1880 34,500 

In 1890 48,600 

In 1895 60,000 

Here is a sevenfold increase, for the same 30 years — from 
8,000 in 1865 (including what was Clinton, Brooklyn, and 
San Antonio) to 60,000 in 1895, the present city. While 
the nation doubles, the state trebles, and Oakland increases 
sevenfold. 

And the force of these figures lies in the two facts that 




Some of Oakland's Oaks. 



In the 30 years since the war, we, as a people, have ac- 
quired an additional population numerous enough to consti- 
tute a nation by itself larger than the whole nation was at 
the close of the war. 

Follow California' s gain during that national growth : — 

California's population— 

In 1865 460,000 

In 1870 560,000 

In 1880 865,000 

In 1890 1,208,000 

In 1895. .. 1,335,000 

While the national population since the war has doubled, 
with a fraction over — from 34,000,000 in 1865 to 70,000,000 
in 1895 — California has trebled in population — 460,000 in 
1865 to 1,335.000 in 1895. 

o.\kland's increase. 
In that 30-year period, less than a generation, what has 



there has been no standstill, an unbroken line of increase 
for thirty years, and not a force or factor tor that increase 
was transient, not one but that is still operative, still continu- 
ing. The ratio of increase, of course, varied, but an in- 
crease never failed from year to semi-decade and from semi- 
decade to decade. 

Our assessable values leave similar traceable footprints: — 

1870 $ 6,000,000 

1880 (the railroad had reached the bay) 28,000,000 

1885 30,000,000 

1890 39,400,000 

1895 46,500,000 

Here, again, is the sevenfold increase, with some to spare 
— from $6,000,000 in 1865 to $46,000,000 in 1895. 

These facts justify the oracle in foreshadowing that in 30 
years the nation will be 130,000,000, the state over 3,000,- 
000, and Oakland, with its consolidated suburbs and 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



75 



annexed neighbors, a larger place than now, and a very 
much larger city, with 6 significant figures opposite her 
name. 

THE NICARAGUA CANAL. 

3. There is going to be a canal for ocean ships across the 
isthmus, between North and South America. That means 
masts, a forest of them, in San Francisco Bay. That means 
commerce on the eastern as well as the western side of the 
bay. To the outside world it does not matter which side. 
By that time Oakland and the immediately adjoining popu- 
lation will be large enough, and so constituted as to have a 
voice and a hand in that commerce. Interests then here, 
with their eastern connections, will care less for the accidental 
prestige of the western peninsula than for the more favorable 
and broader opportunities of investment on the continental 
side of the bay. Such interests would as lief have the side 
values, arising from their own enterprises, accrue to invest- 
ments openly accessible here, as to have that benefit accrue 
to the peninsular property of others, the value of which is 
already too high to warrant widespread collateral invest- 
ments. 

ONE MORE RAILROAD — OR TWO? 

4. Early, meanwhile, those other eastern interests will be 
here. It will not be a long wait, after the San Joaquin 
Valley Railroad reaches Bakersfield and the foot of the 
Tehachapi Mountain, till the reorganized Atchison, Topeka, 
and Santa Fe, now at Rogers, a few miles south of Mojave, 
will come over the hill and connect. The cost is moderate, 
in railroad phraseology. The survey has been made, the 
grade feasible. Then you have another transcontinental 
road from the heart of the country to Stockton. That is 
interior, and east of Oakland, not west. No transcontinental 
system can long stop with an interior terminus. Oakland 
lies in the path of all practical grades and convenient routes 
from Stockton to San Francisco, and, what is more, in the 
path of all such grades and routes to San Francisco Bay 
and its ocean waters and ocean commerce, first to be met 
on the eastern side precisely at Oakland. 

THE ONLY DEEP-WATER INLET. 

For there is no eastern deep-water arm of the bay, no 
eastern inlet, from the northern to the southern end of the 
Bay of San Francisco, e.xcept the Oakland Harbor — not 
one. Where will the temporary valley terminus of a through 
railroad be pushed to, except to Oakland and that one inlet, 
the Estuary of San Antonio? Add to this the fact that at 
the same point the local passenger traffic across the bay 
between cities is now over 1,000,000 passengers a month, 
and then consider again where the temporary interior termi- 
nus of a through railroad will be impelled and attracted — 
both. The first three factors signify slow growth; this one 
would mean speed, growth by leaps and bounds. And 
Oakland, with her suburban and neighboring population 
of over 100,000, increasing, is and will be strong enough 
numerically and financially to avail herself in ample measure 
of the obvious and manifold advantages of this speedy onset 



in her commercial future, and in her other future, greater 
than commercial. This new factor, another transcontinental 
railroad, competitive in more senses than one, leveling in 
more senses than one, regulating in more senses than one, 
with its new men, measures, and money, is to be added to 
the slower forces already noticed, — natural advantages of 
site, increase of population, and increase of maritime com- 
merce, to arise from the isthmian canal. This new factor is 
not of the distant future. The oracle does not need to 
address its prophecy, as to that factor, to a cross section of 
time 30 years, nor 20 years, nor 10 years hence. 

Oracle: The year 1900 shall see the metal of the Alle- 
ghanies and the pigs of Pittsburg advancing in the waters of 
San Francisco Bay. 

OMAHA AND OAKLAND. 

In the background it is possible there is another favoring 
omen — it is the hand of the republic pointing to the line 

from O to O . And does the oracle hear words of 

this import : This is mine, my moneys and my lands built 
it; I carry the burdens; henceforth its benefits shall be my 
people's. I pay, I take, I dedicate to commercial freedom. 
If that omen turns to fact, ten years will equal thirty, and, 
presto, the lesser O is greater than the larger O. 

END OF THIS CENTURY. 

5. Five years of the century remain — for us the best of 
the hundred. Before 1900 the government will lay the 
foundations of a national building in Oakland. Before 1 900 
all labor and briefs and arguments concerning the Oakland 
water front will have gone to judgment, superior, supreme, 
and federal. Oracle: And that which at creation was dedi- 
cated to the common use of mankind, will have been thus 
adjudged: Be thou dedicate, inalienable, common forever. 

One million dollars will complete the government's work 
in the Oakland harbor. Three years is ample time; it can 
be completed in two; five is an abundance. The automatic 
tide-gates at San Leandro Bay may be driving tide-water 
through the canal and scouring silt down the channel of the 
estuary and out at the mouth of the training walls in 1900, 
bettering nature. 

Oracle: In 1900 the waters shall leave their bed, a 
tongue of tide of one mouth shall cleave the upland and 
become a shovel in another mouth. 

OURSELVES A FACTOR. 

6. Ourselves. Site may favor, numbers help, commerce 
aid, competition contribute, law secure, and improvements 
count, but we too are a factor. The individual carves his 
destiny, somewhat. It is not the chisel but the spirit of 
man that does the carving. Mallet and chisel lying alone 
on any landscape, though surrounded by numbers, in sight 
of commerce and competition, guarded by law and pro- 
tected by government, never carved one stone for any wall 
for any temple of man's progress. Towns have a spirit- 
or lack of it — as well as individuals. We have too many, 
not too much. The many must fuse into the one. We are 



76 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



learning. The \'alley Railroad subscription was evidence 
of the cooperative spirit. The Fabiola fete illustrated the 
value of association and evidenced again that convergent 
forces are better than divellant. The exposition shows 
what intelligent and ardent coiiperation can do, and that 
the spirit that upbuilds towns can work as well here 
through us as instrumentalities as through others else- 
where. Reputation has been whispered to death before 
now. The spirit of a town's neighborly cooperation is as 
sensitive. The whisperers of a town are worse, and worse 
for it, than its obstructionists. The neighborliness that sub- 
scribes for the common advancement, the cooperation that 
sandals the foot and fills the hand of charity, the spirit that 
stands for our joint welfare, are of right entitled, in this and 



RAILROAD REVIEW. 



A BUSINESS man, and especially a manufacturer, when 
looking for a good point to invest in a business enterprise, 
first investigates the facilities for transportation, the means 
for getting his goods, wares, and merchandise, or raw mate- 
rials, and the means of transporting his manufactured arti- 
cles to the markets of the country and the world. 

Investigation will demonstrate the fact that Oakland is one 
of the great railroad centers of these United States. 

This railroad ser\'ice may be divided into five systems — 
local, suburban, state, coast, and transcontinental. Horse- 
car roads are not embraced in this statement. 

First is the broad-gauge road, the oldest, a portion of 




Residence of James L. Barker. Berkeley. 



every other community, to out-countenance into silence the 
sinister whisperers. When men diflfer, men stand face to 
face, eye to eye, and strike honest steel upon honest steel, 
and the clash and combat are honorable. Let us munici- 
pally build, support, uphold, cooperate, advance — it is but 
the march of all of us. What better words those are than 
obstruct, object, fault-finding, suspicious, and whisperer? 
These stand for the bat and snake, those for the sky-lark 
and the eagle — and to the spirit of a city belong wing and 
flight, as well as to the spirit of the man. 

Oracle: And from the shadows of oaks grew granite into 
the air; in water came leafless forests; on shore the light of 
day hovered through the night. A larger people gathered 
there, the voice of whose assemblies always answered to the 
designers of their welfare — Yes. 

The oracle ceases, and the scrivener says: If I had a 
friend, and he had anything in Oakland, and could stay, I'd 
say to him, Stay, friend; it is the morning. 



which was established in 1863, starting at Fruitvale, out- 
side the city limits, running every thirty minutes to the end 
of the Oakland mole, some six miles, and connecting with 
the palace ferry steamers between Oakland and San Fran- 
cisco. 

Second, the broad-gauge line starting from Berkeley, 
and making thirty-minute trips to the end of the Oakland 
mole, accommodating Berkeley, Lorin, Golden Gate, Bay 
View, Emeryville, the western portion of Oakland, and 
connecting with the ferry steamers. 

Third, the broad-gauge line starting from Alameda, 
crossing the estuary at First Street, and nmning every half 
hour to the end of the mole, connecting with the same 
steamers. 

Fourth, the narrow-gauge line starting at the junction of 
Fourteenth and Franklin Streets, and running every half 
hour to the end of the long pier, connecting with another 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



77 



line of ferry steamers, also with trains to Alameda, and the 
southern part of the county and state. 

On all of these lines, says the Tribune, the monthly 
commutation tickets are $3.00, and single fares 10 cents, to 
San Francisco. 

A line of ferry steamers leave' for San Francisco from 
Broadway wharf — same rate of fare, and tickets on all lines 
are interchangeable. 

The second, or suburban system, comprises the lines of 
railways connecting with the principal towns of the county. 
Seven trains leave Oakland daily for Melrose, Seminary 
Park, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Haywards, Decoto, and 
Niles. 

Five trams leave Oakland daily for Niles, Irvington, Mis- 



with trains for Marysville, Oroville, Chico, and Red Bluff, 
and intermediate points. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily for Sacramento via Liver- 
more and Lathrop, Stockton, and intermediate towns, con- 
necting at Gault with trains to lone, at Stockton with trains 
to Milton and Oakdale, and at Lodi with trains to Valley 
Springs and intermediate towns. Also with lines to the 
counties in the San Joaquin Valley and Yosemite Valley. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily for Port Costa, Davisvillej 
Woodland, Red Bluff, Redding, and intermediate towns, 
connecting at Willows with trains to Colusa and also to 
Lake County; also at Woodland with trains to Knight's 
Landing. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily for Vallejo Junction, 




At the Fountain, Hills College. 



sion San Jose, Warm Springs, Milpitas, and San Jose, and 
other sections of the state south of San Jose. 

Three trains leave daily for Niles, Sunol, Pleasanton, and 
Livermore — all broad-gauge lines. 

On the narrow-gauge lines, five trains leave Oakland 
daily for Alameda, West San Leandro, West San Lorenzo, 
Russels, Mt. Eden, Alvarado, Halls, Newark, Mowry's, 
Alviso, Santa Clara and San Jose. 

On the Nevada narrow-gauge line trains run from Oak- 
land via San Pablo to Contra Costa County. 

A line of railroad connects with the broad gauge at Fruit- 
vale, running to Laundry Farm and Seminary Park. 

The third system comprises lines of railroad connecting 
Oakland with the principal towns of the state. 

Three trains leave Oakland daily for Port Costa, Benicia, 
Suisun, Sacramento, and intermediate towns, connecting 



Vallejo, Napa, Calistoga, and intermediate towns, connect- 
ing with trains at Napa Junction for Creston, Cordelia, and 
Suisun. 

Three trains leave Oakland daily via Vallejo Junction for 
Santa Rosa, Sonoma Camp, and intermediate towns. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily via Lathrop, through the 
San Joaquin Valley, to Los Angeles, connecting with the 
southern California network of railways. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily via Niles for San Jose, 
Santa Cruz, Pajaro, Watsonville, to Paso Robles, San Luis 
Obispo County, and intermediate towns. 

One train leaves Oakland daily via Port Costa and Sac- 
ramento for Colfax, Placer County, connecting with trains 
for Grass Valley, Nevada City, Nevada County, and inter- 
mediate points. 

Oakland trains for Sacramento connect at Elmira with 



78 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



trains to Vacaville, Madison, Rumsey, and intermediate 
towns. 

Two trains leave Oakland daily by the narrow-gauge line 
for Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and intermediate towns, connect- 
ing at Felton with the Boulder Creek and Pescadero line, 
Big Trees, etc., and at San Jose with the New Almaden 
line. 

The transcontinental and coast system of railways are 
.virtually the same. The Central Pacihc sends out two 
trains each day from Oakland to Ogden, connecting at 
Reno, Nevada, with the Carson and Virginia line, and that 
with the Carson and Colorado line through southern Nevada, 
Mono and Inyo Counties in this state, to the Colorado 
River. Also at Reno, the Central Pacific trains connect 
with a line to Lassen County, and that with transportation 
lines to Modoc County, through Surprise Valley into Ore- 
gon. At Battle Mountain the Central Pacific connects with 
the Nevada Central line, running to Austin, Nevada, and at 
Palisades with the Eureka line, running to the rich mines in 
that section, and at Ogden with the Union Pacific, Denver 
and Rio Grande, Utah Central, LItah and Northern, and the 
Oregon Short Line — branching to all points of the compass 
north, east, south, and west. 

Ne.xt is the Southern Pacific system, reaching out in a 
far greater network of railways, and spanning far greater 
extent of territory than does the Central Pacific. Two 
trains leave Oakland each day over this route. These 
trains go via Port Costa, following the San Joaquin River 
via Lathrop, through the San Joaquin Valley to Mojave 
and the Needles, connecting with the complicated systems 
of the Atlantic and Pacific, the Atchison, Topekaand Santa 
Fe systems, and the St. Louis and San Francisco system. 
Or via Los Angeles and Yuma, connecting with the Mari- 
copa and Phceni.x Railway; with the Sonora Railway at 
Nogales to Guaymas; and at El Paso with the Mexican Cen- 
tral through the Mexican states to the City of Mexico; or to 
the Texas border, connecting with the whole Texas and 
southern system; or to Galveston and New Orleans and the 
great systems of railway traversing with their connections 
the whole continent. 

Lastly, the Oregon line, with its connections spanning 
the great northwest. Daily trains leave Oakland, travers- 
ing the whole length of the Sacramento Valley, via Sacra- 
mento, Marysville, Red Blutf, passing the very base of 
Mount Shasta, and at Montague, in the great Shasta Valley, 
connecting with the line of railway to Yreka, on through 
Oregon to Portland, connecting with two lines of the North- 
ern Pacific to Washington, and there connecting with its 
system of railways and the Canadian Pacific; through 
Idaho, Montana, Dakota, and Minnesota, with their systems 
of railways to the Great Lakes and the east. 

Certainly this is sufficient to establish our assertion that 
Oakland is the great railroad center of the Pacific Coast, if 
not of the continent. 

In addition to the steam railway systems, Oakland has a 
network of electric railways, and is, in fact, the electric city 



of the continent. Three lines of electric railway connect 
Oakland and Berkeley; virtually two lines connect Oakland 
and Alameda. The Oakland and Haywards line is the 
longest electric road on the coast — over sixteen miles in 
length, not including the branch lines — one to San Lorenzo 
and one at Twenty-third Avenue. Three lines connect the 
city with the steam railway system at Sixteenth Street 
depot. Two lines connect the central part of the city with 
West Oakland. A line runs from Broadway to the Her- 
mitage. Another traverses Fruitvale Avenue, connecting 
with steam cars on the Seventh Street ferry line. Four 
difierent lines traverse East Oakland, known as the Sessions- 
Vandercook system. Two lines of electric cars run to 
Mountain View, and a line to the Piedmont power house, 
and another line connecting the Telegraph Avenue line with 
the steam cars at Lorin. 

A charter has been granted for an electric road from 
Oakland to the Corral Hollow coal mines, in Livermore 
Valley — some forty miles in length — and will be pushed 
through at an early day. 

Besides the electric lines, Oakland has two systems of 
cable lines in operation. Certainly Oakland is well provided 
with transportation facilities. 



DIFFERENT CLIMATE. 



California is wonderfully diversified in climate as well 
as in other respects. Here in Alameda County the tem- 
perature is about the same the year round, while snow is 
abundant one hundred miles east in the mountains. 

South of us two hundred miles it is very hot in the sum- 
mer, and overcoats are nex'er needed in the winter. 

In the northern part of the state the four seasons are as 
regular as they are in the east. No other state in the 
Union is favored with such climate. 

One parado.x worth mentioning is the fact that snow- 
balls and figs can be gathered in California by the same 
person on the same day. When snowballs are ripe in the 
foothills, figs are ri]>e in Alameda County. The distance 
between the two is less than a day's journey. 

The shortest way to define the climate of Alameda 
County is by stating this undeniable fact, There is none 
better in the world. 

There are thousands of persons in Alameda County who 
never saw a pair of steel skates. Roller skates are the only 
kind ever used here. 

An overcoat is needed here as much in July as in Decem- 
ber. It all depends upon the style one wishes to dress in, 
rather than the weather. 

A parasol is as ser\-iceable in this climate on Christmas 
as on the 4th of July. The parasol season in Alameda 
County extends usually from January i to December 31 of 
each year. 

Oh, yes, people wear rubber shoes sometimes, but as a 
general rule they are not needed! 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



79 



HEALTHIEST OF CITIES. 



Why Oakland is Essentially a City of Homes. 



BY CHAS. M. FISHEk, M. D. 



Is Oakland a desirable place for residence? and is it 
healthful? These are two questions that are undoubtedly 
frequently asked by people who contemplate taking up a 
residence here. 

With the waters of the San Francisco Bay at her feet, 
and the wide Pacific making attempts to crowd in through 
the Golden Gate to inundate her shores; with the foot-hills 



are kept clean by flushings during the dry summer months. 
The proper disposal of garbage was a question that 
occupied the attention of boards of health and city councils 
for a number of years. For a long time it was dumped 
on the marshes on the outer borders of the city. But as 
these lands were reclaimed, and the city expanded in 
growth, these dumps became a nuisance, not only because 
of their disease-breeding qualities, but by reason of the dis- 
agreeable and unhealthful odors that constantly emanated 
from them. This question has finally been disposed of by 
having the garbage removed daily on cars, far outside of the 
city limits, where a neighboring county is using it for fiUing 
in marshes. There is also in course of construction an 
odorless garbage crematory which its projectors say will 




Residence of John Carber, Berkeley. 



tossing high their tops and defiantly guarding the rear; 
with the beautiful University town of Berkeley but thirty 
minutes' ride to the north, demanding, as it were, an edu- 
cational passport before passing the stranger through her 
gates; with the large and fertile Santa Clara Valley to the 
south, teaching the newcomer lessons of thrift and plenty — 
with such a location and such surroundings, we naturally 
answer the first question in the affirmative. The truthful- 
ness of the statement is further attested by the presence of 
60,000 people and 'their many beautiful homes. 

It is true that all these conditions might obtain and the 
city be in an unhealthful condition. This, however, is not 
the case; nature has been lavish, and man has not been 
idle, as a glance at our sanitary conditions and health 
statistics shows. 

The city has a complete sewer system, the sewerage 
being carried into the bay by natural drainage. The sewers 



consume many times over the quantity of garbage the city 
daily produces. 

This will solve the problem in a scientific manner for all 
time, and, if properly handled, will net the city a neat 
annual income, instead of being an expense to householders 
as its disposal at present is. 

About two years ago there was created the office of milk, 
market, and meat inspector, and a competent man elected 
to the position. This I consider the most important office 
in the city government, and the inspector one of our most 
valuable public servants. Without such an ofiicial, diluted 
and adulterated milk from tuberculous cows is delivered at 
your doors, and your infants poisoned and killed by it. 
Without this inspection the markets offer for sale canned 
meats and vegetables that are unfit for human consumption ; 
the peddler sells at reduced rates spoiled berries and fruits, 
and game that is oftentimes alive with vermin. During the 



8o 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 




Residence of P. K. Shattuck, Berkeley. 



past year 8 different parties were arrested for offering for 
sale tuberculous meat, one of them giving as an excuse that 
he expected to sell it only to the ' 'poorer people. ' ' The 
dairies are regularly inspected, and tuberculous cows con- 
demned and killed. For the year ending June 30, 1895, 
he made 166 inspections of dairies, examined 7,968 cows, 
and condemned 28 as suffering from tuberculosis. 

This, briefly, is what the inspector is doing for the public 
good — the public health. Who is doing more? With the 
establishing of a milk standard (the ordinance is now before 
the council) we expect to continue the work with renewed 
vigor. 

THE RAINFALL. 

The rainfall for the past six years, as shown by the 
records in the Chabot Obser\'atory, is as follows: — 



Year. 


Quantity. 


No. Days. 


1889-90 


46.95 inches 
23.19 " 
20.87 " 
28.05 " 
25.64 " 
36.89 " 


98 


1890-91 


59 
70 


t8q2— O'l 


65 




79 


1894-95 


74 



This gives a mean annual rainfall of 30.26 inches, and an 
average number of days, annually, of 74. This is rather 
above the average, both as to quantity and number of days, 
for any previous six years. 

The records of the same institution give the following 
temperature for the year 1894-95: — 



Years 
1894-95. 



July 

August .... 
September.. 

October 

November.. 
December... 

Januarj' 

February... 

March 

April 

May 

June 



Means.. 



Mean for 
month. 



Maximum 
for month. 



Minimum 
for month. 



59.00 
59-40 
60.60 
56.60 
63.00 
47.87 
46.10 
49.70 
50.60 
54.00 

59-05 
60.00 



55-5 



82.0 
90.0 
91.0 
84.0 
73-0 
60.0 
61.0 
68.0 
71.0 
79.0 
87.0 
92.0 



78.17 



Monthly 
range. 



50.0 
45 -o 
49.0 
45-0 
42.0 
39-0 
35 -o 
36.0 
37 -o 
40.0 
46.0 
46.0 



42-5 



32.0 

45 -o 

42.0 

39-0 

31.0 _ 

21.0 

26.0 

32.0 

34-0 

39-0 

41.0 

46.0 



35-7 



Mean daily 
range. 



18.70 
17.10 
19.70 

15-50 
16.60 

S.51 
11.50 
15.50 
13-80 

7.60 
19.01 
21.00 



15-22 



Season. Degrees. 

Mean temperature of spring 54-55 

Mean temperature of summer 59-30 

Mean temperature of autumn 60.00 

Mean temperature of winter 47-89 

We have endeavored to show that by reason of our loca- 
tion, sanitary and meteorological conditions, we ought to be 
a healthy city. The next thing to inquire is whether the 
mortuary statistics confirm that presumption. 

In a report recently published by the Health Department 
where the death rate per 1,000 from all causes was tabulated 
for 25 different cities in the United States, it was shown that 
Oakland's rate of 12.95 per 1,000 was the lowest of all, it 
ranging as high as 30.77 in some cities. The average 
annual death rate for the past 13 years is 13.32 per 1,000, 
from which we learn that life is longer here than it is in 
many other cities. This rate would be still considerably 
reduced if we could eliminate those consumptives who come 
here and are buried a few days after their arrival. While 



FACTS Ajyn FIGURES. 



8r 



our climate is conducive to longevity, and has healing 
qualities for many diseases, it has no power to keep life 
in an individual with but a remnant of a lung left. 

The true index, however, of good sanitary conditions is 
the number of zymotic diseases in a city; for it is these that 
are produced by an unsanitary state of affairs. Typhoid 
fever is probably the best type, and its most common mode 
of conveyance is either by infected water or by infected 
milk; hence, if a city has a good water supply, a thorough 
inspection of dairies, and a perfect sewer system, the deaths 
from typhoid fever will be reduced to a minimum. While 
our water supply is not entirely above suspicion, and the 
dairj'men will well bear watching, and the sewers require an 
occasional overhauling, a comparison with other cities 
shows that Oakland's typhoid record is good, and that 
deaths from this disease are not a common occurrence. 

The percentage of deaths from zymotic diseases is very 
low, as the following comparative table will show: — 

Cities. Rate. 

Burlington, Vermont 09 

Baltimore, Maryland iS 

Concord, New Hampshire 14 

Cincinnati, Ohio 12 

Fall River, ISIassachusetts 24 

Hartford, Connecticut 28 

Indianapolis, Indiana 21 

Liverpool, England 16 

Los Angeles, California 12 

Memphis, Tennessee 16 

Portland, Maine 11 

Rochester, New York 25 

San Francisco, California 14 

Seattle, Washington 23 

Toledo, Ohio 22 

OAKLAND, Cal 09 

While these figures speak very favorably for Oakland, 
the typhoid statistics are still more creditable. For the 
fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, there were only 15 deaths 
from typhoid fever in this city, making a rate of 2.5 per 
10,000 inhabitants. In 1890, the reports of all the cities in 
the United States having 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked 
Oakland as having the fourteenth lowest typhoid death 
rate, it being 3.3 per 10,000, while the reports for similar 
cities for 1895, rank this city as the tenth lowest one. 
Trenton, Detroit, New York, and Brooklyn are a few cities 
having lower typhoid mortality statistics, while Denver, 
Pittsburg, Washington, D. C, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, 
and San Francisco are cities having a higher rate. 

The following table will bring out these comparisons more 
clearly. The rate gi\-en is of deaths from typhoid fever per 
10,000 inhabitants: — 

City. Rate. 

Denver, Colorado 26.4 

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania 12.7 

Lawrence, Michigan 12.7 

Chariest' 11, South Carolina 9.8 

Washington, D. C 8.7 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , 7.4 

Chicago, Illinois 7.3 

Los Angeles, California 6.7 

6 



City. Rate. 

Cleveland, Ohio 6.3 

San Francisco, California 5.6 

Dayton, Ohio 2.5 

New York, New York 23 

Detroit, Michigan 1.9 

Lynn, Massachusetts 1.6 

London, England 1.7 

Glasgow, Scotland 2.0 

Rotterdam, Holland 5 

Hague, Holland 2 

Berlin, Germany 9 

Dresden, Saxony 5 

OAKLAND, California 2.5 

While these figures are a matter for congratulation, a 
glance at what sanitation has done in Europe to still further 
decrease the mortality from this dread disease, teaches us 
that the lives of many valuable citizens may be spared if we 
employ the knowledge the Old World has given us in this 
matter. 



OUTDOOR SPORTS. 



There is not a day in the year but one may indulge in 
outdoor sports if so desired. 

Boating may be done on the bay or on Lake Merritt 
(the latter body of water lies right in the heart of the city) 
night or day the year round. 

Baseball and football can be played without fear of a 
storm of any kind. Horse-racing is a great pastime here, 
to be indulged in without interruption on account of the 
weather. Every day is a good day for sport with the gun, 
and when it comes to fishing, the weather is always just right 
for it. 

If you want to skate in Oakland, you must do so on a 
smooth floor; for our ponds never freeze over. 



ALAMEDA COUNTY GOLD. 



Gold doesn't grow on trees in Alameda County. Don't 
come here with an idea that it does. Nor is gold to be 
found lying on the ground like boulders. The surest way 
of finding gold is to do something that has a gold value to 
it, for its usefulness to the community. If you will come 
here with that idea in your head and carry it out to the 
letter, you will have plenty of gold in a very short time. 
Come here with the determination of being useful to the 
community in which you reside. All useful men in this 
county have gold. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



Strawberries and nearh' every other kind of berries 
can be gathered most any day in the year. A strawberry 
farmer who attends to his busini^ss can get rich here in a 
little while. 



82 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



THE RISE IN VALUE OF OAKLAND 
REAL ESTATE. 



BY WILLIAM J. DINGEE. 
[President Oakland Water Company.] 



The rise in values is inseparable from public progression. 
Public spirit is the parent of municipal prosperity. Natural 
advantages give rise to public enterprise more than anything 
else. All great cities have great natural advantages. New 
York, Philadelphia, and Boston have been enabled to make 
use of their water fronts without litigation, and for a full 
century ocean commerce has paid financial tribute to those 
cities, and they have prospered accordingly. 

Chicago, for many years, had her prosperity curtailed 
because her greatest natural advantage — the lake front — 
was usurped by the Illinois Central Railroad. The courts, 
however, came to the aid of Chicago, and wrested her water 
front from the monopoly, and restored it to the city. Since 
that time, no city in America can show a greater increase 
in commerce and population than Chicago — and no city in 
the world can show a greater record for real-estate transac- 
tions, and the building of gigantic business blocks, than the 
"Prairie City of the West." 

Oakland's water front. 

Had Oakland been in possession of her water front twenty 
years ago up to the present time, my candid conviction 
is that San Francisco would now be the second city in Cali- 
fornia, while Oakland would be the first in size and com- 
merce, as it is the first in natural advantages. 

Notwithstanding the fact that our city has been prevented 
from using its water front — its greatest natural advantage — 
it nevertheless has made a remarkable record in the display 
of progress and enterprise by its public-spirited citizens. 

twenty years ago. 

In 1876 a single horse-car track was the only mark of 
progress at the corner of Broadway and Fourteenth Street. 
Now a hundred or more electric and cable cars pass that 
corner daily from sun to sun. Where then stood several 
frame buildings, worth in the aggregate but a few thousands 
of dollars, now stands some of the finest brick blocks on the 
Pacific Coast. He who was the owner of a $5,000 lot near 
that corner then, realizes the fact that the same lot is worth 
a fortune to-day. 

TEN years up. 

Looking at it statistically for a single decade, the rise of 
value in that time is astonishing. For instance: Block igo, 
bounded by Fourteenth and Broadway, Thirteenth and 
Washington Streets, ten years ago was assessed at $163, 250. 
This year it was assessed at $504, 250. A I'ise in value in 
10 years of $4^4,2^0/ 

Nowtake block 189, bounded by Washington, Clay, Thir- 
teenth, and Fourteenth Streets. Assessed 10 years ago at 
$46,900. Assessed in 1896 at $222,350. A rise in value 
in JO years of $ ij3,4§o! 



Again, take block 117, bounded by Ninth, Tenth, Wash- 
ington, and Clay Streets. Ten years ago assessed at $57,- 
200. Assessed in 1896 at $194,875. A rise in vahce in 
10 years of $ijj,6'j^! 

Once more: Take block 157, bounded by Eleventh, 
Twelfth, Washington, and Clay Streets. Assessed 10 years 
ago at $51,000. Assessed in 1896 at $216,875. -^ ''"^ ^'' 
value in 10 years of $16^, Sj^/ 

I might add twenty more similar illustrations, but the 
above will suffice for the purpose. Now let us examine the 

STABILITY OF VALUES. 

Oakland has never had such a thing as a "boom," and 
for that reason, if no other, the rise in values is absolutely 
stable. In order to make this showing plain, I will quote 




Washin^on Street in 18S6. 

the assessor's records o{ land values only ox\ property in the 
city of Oakland in decades since 1873; — 

Block 175 — 

1873 1 61,450 

1883 146,400 

1893 3251O00 

1895 432,125 

1896 441.350 

Block 176— 

1873 % 18,500 

1883 48,100 

1893 139.350 

1895 185,350 

1896 217,100 

Block 174 — 

1873 % 47,700 

1883 99,775 

1S93 205,000 

1895 271,425 

1896 282,250 

Block 1.998 — 

1873 1 24,500 

18S3 116,800 

1893 296,125 

1S95 300,000 

1S96 400,000 

The above illustration of facts might be carried out so as 
to cover hundreds of blocks, but it is not necessary, since 
one fact of this kind is as good as a million. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



83 



MADE SOME MONEY. 

Ten years ago, when Washington Street was a residence 
street, property was selling at $100 per front foot. Now 
that Washington has become a business street, this same 
property is worth* $1,000 per front foot. Those who had 
confidence in Oakland then, and were wise enough to buy 
property on that street, now have more confidence, and con- 
sequently more riches by tenfold, than they had then. The 
same opportunities are here to-day on other streets for all 
who have the right kind of confidence. 

BETTER PROSPECTS. 

The truth of the matter is, the prospects for property 
owners in Oakland are better now than they ever were 
before in the history of the city. Why do I think so? may 
be asked. W^ell, I will tell you: — 

Ten years ago there were no electric railroads in Oakland. 
Now there are 150 miles of track, local and suburban. These 
roads not only permeate every part of the city, but they 
extend to all the suburban towns, and far into the interior 
of the county. This means rapid transit for the producer 
and the consumer, more local trade, and the latter means a 
rise in property values. 

PRODUCTIVE SOIL. 

Nowhere on the face of the earth can more productive 
land be found than that which backs up the city of Oakland. 
Everything that grows can be produced in this county, and 
Oakland handles nearly all of the fruit and vegetables grown 
in Alameda County. Ten years ago nearly all of this traffic 
went to San Francisco, but now it comes to Oakland, and 
helps to increase trade and the rise of values. 

WATER FRONT. 

Ten years ago Oakland had no water front that it might 
call its own, but Judge Ogden, of the Superior Court, has 
decreed several thousand acres of water front to the city, 
and if his decision is sustained by the United States Supreme 
Court (and there is every hope of its doing so), then will 
come a tidal wave of prosperity and progression seldom wit- 
nessed in any city of the American Union. Despite the 
fact that the city has been deterred from the control of this 
harbor, the commercial tonnage has increased from 154,300 
tons in 1884 to 2,600,000 tons in 1895. The local passen- 
ger traffic between Oakland and San Francisco has increased 
likewise from 2,067,000 passengers in 1873, to nearly 13,- 
000,000 in 1896. 

Half of the tonnage that now goes through the Golden 
Gate passes through the Oakland jetties. When Oakland 
controls its own harbor, things will be different, and the 
balance sheet will be in our favor. Hence, the only thing 
necessarj^ to make Oakland a successful ri\'al of San Fran- 
cisco is a deep-water channel under its own control. It goes 
without saying that this is the continental side of the bay — 
the side on which all continental roads must center — the 
place where all ocean docks should be built — the only natu- 
ral port where ocean steamers can meet the cars and cargoes 
of the overland trains. The day for all this is close at hand, 
and when it is settled beyond all dispute, there will come a 



rise ill values in Oakland real estate that will be the marvel 
of the world. 

PORT OF ENTRY. 

Ten years ago, Oakland was unknown in the marine 
world. It is only within a year that it has become a port 
of entrj'^a fact due to the energy and fidelity of ex-Con- 
gressman W. B. English, now collector of this port. Ocean 
vessels can now sail into this harbor with imports from China, 
Australia, Japan, Russia, Hawaiian Islands, and all parts 
of the globe, and unload their cargoes, and reload with the 
products of this country. This means a rise in foreign trade, 
and a rise in all local values. 

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 

The world does not produce public schools superior to 




Washington Street in 1896. 

those of Oakland, and nowhere, to my knowledge, do 
school-teachers receive better salaries on an average than our 
teachers. Numerous private and select schools abound here, 
and they are all in a flourishing condition. The University 
of California — the pride of the state — with its 1,400 students 
and great teachers, is located within a half hour's ride of the 
heart of the city. The high-grade character of our schools, 
and the location of the State University in our midst, has 
been the means of drawing to thiscity many of the best fam- 
ilies of the Pacific Coast. These have built elegant homes — 
a fact indicative within itself of the stability in the rise of 
values in all parts of the city. 

CONCLUSION. 

San Francisco, all will admit, is a better advertised city 
to-day than Oakland, but few, if any, will go so far as 
to claim that San Francisco has any advantages over Oak- 
land, save and except its larger population at present. The 
educational facilities as a whole are better here than in San 
Francisco. The natural scenery is prettier. The climate 
is far preferable; and as a residence city, Oakland has no 
superior on the Coast. Better evidence of this fact can not 
be had, than that seven thousand (7,000) of the best 
business and professional men of that city have already 
taken up their residence in Oakland. If this fact alone 
does not insure the rise in values in this city, then I am 
willing to waive my judgment in such matters for all time. 



84 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



A MIDWINTER RAMBLE. 



BY JUDGE E. M. GIBSON. 



How delightful and refreshing it is for one who is tired 
of the worry and toil of business to spend a day in the 
country! I have just had 
such an experience, and I 
can not tell you how much 
I enjoyed it. Yesterday 
was the 28th of December, 
a calm, warm, sunny day. 
Irene and I decided that 
we would hie us to the dis- 
tant mountains, that looked 
so refreshingly green in the 
warm glow of the morning 
sun. The white, fleecy 
clouds which obscured the 
higher peaks were slowly 
disappearing, disclosing to 
view the whole range of 
hills that rise to the north 
and east of Oakland, and 
presenting a scene of nat- 
ural beauty simply inde- 
scribable. It was a spring-like day in midwinter. The air 
seemed fragrant with the perfume of flowers. 

Away beyond Piedmont, a mile or more, in the very midst 
of the mountains, is a charming little valley, and every step 
of the journey thither was invigorating and pleasant. On and 
up we went until we were far above the city ; we paused and 
turned our faces westward, and with exclamations of wonder 
and delight we were able to give but feeble expression to 
the feelings inspired by the scene before us. At our feet 
was the beautiful city of Oakland, spreading far over the 
plain toward Berkeley on the right, with Alameda and 
Brooklyn reaching away to the 
left. Lake Merritt, the estuary, 
the moving trains, the bay, the 
great city of San Francisco on 
the opposite shore, the steamers 
and ships, and the thousand small 
craft of every conceivable descrip- 
tion, flying hither and thither on 
the bay, the world-famed Golden 
Gate opening out into the great 
Pacific Ocean, presenting to view 
in one sweep of vision, from old 
Tamalpais on the north to San 
Leandro on the south, a scene not 
surpassed, if equaled, for beauty 
and grandeur on the round globe. But on we went, through 
Hayes Canon and over the hills to Butterfly Valley, I will 
call it, because I can not think of a more appropriate name. 
Just beyond the hill a beautiful road leads off, to the left. 




"The Rippling Brook." 




A Beautiful Road 



between rows of stately pines, and winds down to "Fern- 
wood," a perfect fairyland, beneath the sylvan shades of 
which flows a rippling brook. We get but a glimpse of the 
palatial abode that nesdes beneath the broad branches of 
the grand old trees that surround it. 

As we gaze from a distance upon the tranquil scene, the 
walks, the trees, the freshly blooming flowers, bathed in the 

warm sunshine of this per- 
fect day, we can see in 
imagination the golden- 
winged butterfly, and hear 
the hum of the honey-bee; 
this is the famed Hayes 
district — famed for its de- 
lightful and healthy climate, 
its many springs of pure 
cold water, its exquisite 
scenery, and, perched upon 
a sunny hillside on the left 
of the roaa, is the Hayes 
schooihouse, and, although 
small, it is a model of artistic 
beauty. There is no school 
now; for, although this 
seems like a June day, it is 
the midwinter vacation. 
Before we quite reach the 
schoolhouse, we turn sharp to the left, and pursue our 
journey down into the charming little valley that lies 
before us. A little further on we pass the Red Gate farm, 
and can now see, a short distance before us, the many- 
gabled Glen Kohler mansion, peeping out from behind the 
green hillside, and presenting to view a scene of romantic 
beauty. Here in this mountain castle, this home of art and 
beauty, of wealth and refinement, of books and curiosities, 
resides a lad}' who has traveled the world over, who has 
spent years in the splendid capitals of Europe, and in visiting 
pleasure resorts and places of note until there was nothing 
more for her to see. Here at the 
mouth of a sunny glen, with its 
tiny tinkling brook fringed with 
ferns and flowers, on a mountain 
roadside facing southward, stands 
the Kohler mansion. The beauti- 
ful flower garden and walks about 
the place, the sparkling, spraying 
fountain in the center of a velvety 
lawn in front, denote wealth, re- 
finement, and taste. 

But before we reach this oasis 
of beauty in the midst of the wild 
romantic mountain scenery that 
surrounds it, we stop at a quaint, 
commodious, old-fashioned farmhouse, with broad porch, 
that stands back from the road on the right, almost hidden 
from view by the orchard and old live oaks that stand 
about it. Between the house and the road a brook of 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



85 



limpid water ripples on its way to the sea. We can not 
but pause upon the little bridge that spans it to admire 
the great walnut and balm of Gilead trees, whose branches 
so gracefully bend above us. The trees in the young 
orchard that extend far upon the hillside to the east- 
ward are nearly bare, but the carrots and red-top beets in 
the field near by look as fresh and green as if it were May 
instead of December, and even the tomato vines were still 
in bloom, as no frost has touched this secluded spot. At 
this charming, poetic place we passed a happy, restful day, 
roaming at will over the hills, with our faithful tousers, feast- 
ing our eyes upon the charming scenery far and near pre- 
sented on every side, pausing now and then to listen and 
look and rest. The brooks and birds were singing, the 
flowers were sweetly blooming, and the flies and bees were 
humming in the soothing, sunny air. 

This place may indeed be called poetic; it is the poetry 
of sound and scene. In listless reverie we rest. If you are 
tired and careworn, go to the country. A day in the hills 
is better than medicine; try it. We could hear the low 
hum of the busy city; it tells of toil and strife. These 
mingled sounds of nature tell of peace and rest. One is the 
voice of man; the other is the voice of God. 



WHAT THE EASTERN FOLKS CAN NOT DO 
AND WE CAN. 



HEALTH STATISTICS. 



With the temperature referred to elsewhere in this book, 
how could Oakland be otherwise than the healthiest city in 
America? Here are some comparisons worth remember- 
ing concerning the annual death rates per each 1,000 of 
inhabitants in the following cities: — 

Cities. Population Rate. 

New Orleans, La 216,090 30.77 

Mobile, Ala 31.076 2S.43 

Washington, D. C 230.392 25.26 

Richmond, Va 85,000 24.S2 

New York, N. Y 1,513,501 24.26 

Boston, Mass 469,647 23.92 

Baltimore, Md 434. 151 23.26 

Detroit, Mich 206,669 23.08 

Fall River, IMass 83,000 22.68 

Brooklyn, N.Y 806,343 21.62 

Milwaukee, Wis 204,150 21.53 

Philadelphia, Pa 1,044,576 21.47 

Manchester, N. H 48,000 20.06 

Chicago, 111 1,099,850 20.01 

Cincinnati, Ohio 296,308 19.72 

Binghamton, N. Y' 36,000 19.02 

St. Louis, Mo 460,367 18.85 

San Francisco, Cal 300,000 18.30 

Cleveland, Ohio 261,546 1S.02 

Rochester, N. Y 150,000 1790 

Louisville, Ky 200,000 16.92 

Auburn, N.Y 28,858 16.31 

Los Angeles, Cal 60,000 i4-50 

Minneapolis, Minn 164,738 13.70 

Oakland, Cal 60,000 11.88 

The Oakland Board of Health is entitled to just credit for 
the most excellent sanitary conditions of the city, without 
which the above figures for the city might have been higher. 



They can't gather fresh cabbage in winter, but we can. 

They can't keep cool in summer, but we can. 

They can't keep warm in winter, but we can. 

They can't have fresh turnips in May, but we can. 

They can' t gather ripe strawberries every month in the 
year, but we can. 

They can't pick flowers out of the garden every day in 
the year, but we can. 

They can' t raise oranges. We can. 

They can't raise figs. We can. 

They can't raise lemons. We can. 

They can't raise olives. We can. 

They can' t raise raisins. We can. 

They can' t raise vegetables all winter. We can. 

They can' t graze their stock all winter. We can. 

They can't "picnic" in winter. We can. 

They can't enjoy the blessings of nature 365 days in the 
year, but we can, and we are so glad of it that we wish they 
would come out here at the rate of 10,000 a day and help 
us enjoy them. 

What is the use in living where you freeze in winter and 
roast in summer? Why not come to Alameda County at 
once and spend the remainder of your days in comfort and 
peace? 



WEATHER AND WORK. 



As a general rule the eastern farmers lose about five 
months' time on account of the weather. In Alameda 
County seldom a day is lost on account of w^eather, and 
when a day is lost here, it isn't on account of wind, snow, 
cold, or heat, but on account of rain. Residents of this 
county are so accustomed to nice weather that most of 
them pay no attention to the rain, but work away, with the 
assurance that it won't last long anyway — and it doesn't. 



MUSHROOMS. 



Fruitvale is an Oakland suburb. M. Maurier, a resi- 
dent of that place, raises Parisian mushrooms for the market. 
He propagates them in a huge cave in the side of a moun- 
tain, and has orders for more than he can supply. He 
intends to enlarge his facilities and go into the business on 
a big scale, as the profits are very great. 



E. B. Stone, five miles east of the city, on the Haywards 
road, says that his Chevalier barley crop averages 60 bush- 
els to the acre, has done so for 10 years, and sells right 
along at $1.30 per cental, or 70 cents per bushel. 



86 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 




'J ernuood*' — l^esidence of Wm. J. Dlnsfee, (*irL!!n'KU rit-ii^hts, o^iiJ.ind. 





The Ivy Vine. 



Steps Leading; from the Fountain. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



87 



SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 

"can't live on climate alone." 

The above is a favorite quotation with many easterners 
■when they are told of the ' 'glorious climate of California. 

What about the glorious(?) climate of Chicago, Buffalo, 
New York, and many other locations in the east, where 
people freeze to death every winter? It seems from all 
reports that it is very difficult to ' ' live on climate ' ' or any- 
thing else when winter sets in there. 

No one is expected to eat the climate here — no, indeed. 
The one great object in asking for a consideration of the 
climate of Alameda County is to call attention to the fact 
that, in consequence of this climate, persons are enabled to 
gain about four months' time each year. What doing? 
might be asked. Raising products of the soil and market- 
ing them in the ' ' dead of winter. ' ' Let us not speak of the 
dead of the winters of the east. This book is not a grave- 
yard gazette to recite the death of those who "could not live 
on climate alone" — even in the east. 

THE MATTER OF CYCLONES. 

More persons are killed by eastern cyclones each year 
than die from all causes in this county. And another thing 
is this : There is enough property lost by cyclones each 
year in the east to balance the entire assessment roll of 
Alameda County. Here is a good place, then, to make 
money by saving your property from storms. 

THE BEST TIME TO COME HERE? 

We will make short work of that question by saying. 
Come NOW. When is ' ' now ' ' ? Whenever you read this 
article — any time between the ist of January and the 31st 
of December. 

"poor PEOPLE." 

Are there any poor people in Alameda County? — Yes, 
indeed. What made them poor? — Give it up. What 
makes poor people in any count}'? There is this much 
about Alameda County : Neither its climate nor its soil has 
ever caused a day's poverty in any family. On the other 
hand, climate alone has made tens of thousands of paupers 
in the east. 

WHAT ABOUT WAGES ? 

The person who travels from place to place in search of 
"higher wages" hasn't any more certainty of success than 
the crow that caws from field to field in search of corn that 
was eaten by the crows that preceded him. 

Wages are based wholly on "conditions," and these 
vary according to this, that, or the other, — mostly the 
other. The "conditions" are such in Alameda County 
that a wage-earner who has the moral power to keep out of 
a saloon on Saturday night and out of a "strike" on Mon- 
day, is as certain of owning a bank account as a young 
rooster is of ha\'ing spurs. 

"don't COME HERE." 

There are persons who say, "Don't come here; I've tried 



it and — failed. ' ' That is as true as the needle to the pole. 
Some persons were born tired. They came into the world 
with a spell of weariness on them which they were never 
able to shake off. A man that will not shake off this weari- 
ness in a county like Alameda is in danger of being buried 
alive by those who never get weary in well-doing. 

the well-to-do PEOPLE. 

There are plenty of them here. They knew when they 
came here that the State of California was buying 40, 000, 000 
(forty million) eggs annually, and as eggs are frequently sold 
at fifty cents per dozen, it would pay them to go into the 
poultry business. There are a number of good-sized bank 
accounts in Alameda County credited to this one business 
alone. 

A BURNING SHAME. 

It is a burning shame for a farmer to buy eggs, chickens, 
mutton, pork, veal, beef, potatoes, cabbage, onions, in fact! 
all kinds of vegetables and fruits, hay, oats, corn, and even 
milk and butter, and very frequently bread. What does 
the reader understand by this?— The whole story is based 
on the fact that some ranchers, called farmers in the east, 
raise nothing— absolutely nothing but wheat. This sort 
of farmer (?) is disappearing with the incoming of east- 
ern farmers who start in on a small scale and raise hundreds 
of varieties of fruits and vegetables, and plenty of chickens, 
turkeys, geese, hogs, cattle, and sheep. Of course they 
soon get rich. 

something else. 

Nearly every pound of beef eaten in Alameda County 
comes from the State of Nevada. Beef raisers from the east, 
here's a field for you. We import lard, butter, wool, poul- 
try, eggs, meat, cheese, hay, potatoes, flour, starch. Think 
of buying these products away from home — out of the State 
at that, and sometimes order them from clear across the 
continent. Can't you see, Mr. Eastern Farmer, that we 
need you and need you immediately? 

we are in earnest. 

As an evidence of our earnestness in asking you to come 
to Alameda County it need only be stated that "Facts and 
Figures ' ' is indorsed by the Board of Supervisors (called 
County Commissioners in some States and Trustees in 
others) and published under the joint auspices of the 
Merchants' Exchange and Board of Trade of the city of 
Oakland. Every statement in the book is vouched for by 
these organizations. 

railroad rates. 

The question of railroad fare is a very small item to per- 
sons determined to better their conditions, but still it is a 
good idea to know something about the cost of it, and to 
that end we publish the passenger rates from the following 
places: — 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



First Class. 


Tourist. 


f73-25 


$61.00 


68.00 


56.50 


69.00 


5750 


68.50 


58.50 


66.50 


56-50 


64.10 


54.10 


57.90 


47.90 


62.50 


5250 



Pittsburgh, 

Toledo, 

Detroit, 

Columbus, 

Cincinnati, 

Louisville, 

St. Paul, 

Chicago, 

With the exception of St. Paul these rates permit coming 
via New Orleans over the famous Sunset Route or via any 
of the direct lines. 

Freight rates are $1.10 per 100 pounds from each of 
the above-named points excepting St. Paul, where the rate 
is $1.00 per 100 pounds. 

A freight car will contain 20,000 pounds of household 
goods. 

THE "colony" question. 

When several families of the same locality have concluded 
to buy land in common and then divide it into colony tracts 
("neighborhoods," we call them in the east), it will prove 
to be a matter of economy for them to state that fact to the 
local ticket agent at their nearest railway station, and ask 
him to report the same to the general passenger agent of 
the road. This being done, the way will be opened for a 
more economic rate than quoted in the table above. 

other information. 

If there is any information you desire that is not found in 
this book, it will be gladly furnished you on application to 
the Secretary of the Merchants' Exchange, or the Secretary 
of the Board of Trade, Oakland. Don't be afraid to ask 
them, for they will be glad to comply with your questions. 
The organizations of which they are honored officers were 
created for no other purpose than to give high-grade char- 
acter to all lines of legitimate calling, and to promote 
immigration to Alameda County, and to foster mercantile, 
mechanical, and every other line of industry that will pro- 
mote the welfare of all the citizens of Alameda County. 



AN ARGUMENT. 



"Why Alameda County in preference to any other 
county in California?" is sometimes asked. 

Alameda County doesn't argue against any other county 
in the State. It doesn't have to. It argues /t?/- a// of them 
as one incomparable whole. 

The State of California is an empire, and Alameda 
County is a dignified part of it; that is all. Doesn't this 
book prove it? 

We have asked poultry raisers to locate here. Why? 
Because $50,000,000 a month are spent in the United States 
for this product, and statistics show that in proportion to 
population California consumes more than any other state. 

Within a radius of 50 miles of Oakland there are 600,000 
people. Why not feed these folks then with poultry raised 
in Alameda County ? The question answers itself. 



No other county in the State is so favored by location as 
Alameda. This isn't saying anything against any other 
county, is it ? — Not a whit. 

Population is everything in trade. The producer must 
have a market. Alameda County affords him the greatest 
market in the State. Doesn't that mean a whole lot? Of 
course it does. 

"But isn't poultry raising a sort of small business?" 
Do you think so ? If you do, turn to the statistics and you 
will find it is a larger industry than wheat raising. 

A larger industry than wheat raising located in the cen- 
ter of the largest population in California is quite an item, 
isn't it? 

What else? San Francisco alone sends $3,500,000 to 
the east yearly for poultry and eggs. London, the metrop- 
olis of the world, does not consume as many eggs as San 
Francisco. 

The greatest market means the greatest price. There 
you have it. 

Alameda County is San Francisco's vegetable mother. 



Green peas and January weather are kith and kin to each 
other. 

Among the first apples grown in California were those of 
Mr. Llewelling, of San Lorenzo, this county. 



The highest peak of the Contra Costa Range, in this 
county, rises 2,275 feet. 



Alameda County is shaped like a boot, the sole of 
which rests on the waters of the bay. 



Numerous small streams of water course the county, of 
which Alameda Creek is the largest. 



When it comes to raising potatoes and tomatoes, Ala- 
meda County laughs at the rest of the world. 



Of the 400,000,000 pounds of California fruit sent east 
yearly, Alameda County furnishes 3,250,000 pounds. 



Many of the large canneries of the State depend upon 
Alameda County orchards for a considerable portion of 
their supply. 

The largest and most complete winery in the United 
States is located at Irvington, Alameda County. Capacity, 
several million gallons. 



Alameda County barley is the finest grown on the 
coast, the Chevalier variety running as high as fifty-six 
pounds to the bushel. 

We never bury fruits or vegetables in Alameda County 
to keep them fi-om freezing. We don' t do business with 
that kind of weather. 



FA CTS AND FIG URES. 



89 



Cabbage every day in the year — great big heads — can 
be found in the Oakland market. ' 'Only five cents a head. ' ' 



Of what consequence is a cyclone? — Practically speaking, 
none. Then why have them about? — We don't have them 
about, in Alameda Countv. 



Prof. C. H. Allen, in his report to the State Board of 
Horticulture, says: "Alameda County has some of the old- 
est and most celebrated orchards in the State. The almost 
fabulous yield of apricots and cherries in this county, with 
the amounts realized per acre for the fruit, gave the first 
vigorous impulse to fruit growing in California." 



An average of three car-loads per day of green peas are 
shipped to market from Washington Township during the 
months of April, May, and June. 



In the production of cherries, Alameda County stands at 
the head, and it ships more of this kind of fruit than all 
other counties in the State combined. 



The history of Alameda County dates back to 1797, in 
which year the San Friscan friars Ysideo Barcinallo and 
Augustin Merin founded Mission San Jose for the conver- 
sion of the Indians then inhabiting the region, to the 
Roman Catholic faith. Forty-two years later 2,300 Indian 
converts were given employment by these friars. 




K- 



■S.^' 





U hittier Way, Mills College. 



The finest rhubarb in United States grows here. San 
Leandro, a town of 2,500 population, gets from $200 to 
$300 a day for this product during the season. 



Difference between the coldest and warmest months 
of the year in a record of eleven years was only 12.47°. 
Spring temperature, 55.29°; summer, 60.46°; autumn, 
56.72°; winter, 49.81°. What part of the world can beat 
this? 

The wines of Alameda County, especially the Sauternes 
and the Medocs, are equal to any in the world; and of four 
gold medals awarded to American wines at the Paris Expo- 
sition, three of them were carried away by products of 
Alameda County. 

There are now in the county the following partial list of 
fruit trees: Apple, 60,500; apricot, 375,000; cherry, 265,- 
000; fig, 4,000; olive, 6,500; quince, 600; peach, 155,000; 
nectarine, 44,000; prune, 260,000; pear, 180,000; plum, 
215,000; lemon, 400; orange, 2,000; almond, 131,000; 
English walnut, 4,600. 



What reason is there for believing that money invested 
in property in your county will pay big in the near future ? — 
Because the heart of California's population is located here, 
and the circulation of money, people, and their products 
means everything to the investor. 



Nowhere in the world do flowers of all kinds grow 
more profusely and with less attention than in Alameda 
County. Roses, heliotropes, fuchsias, magnolias, calla 
lilies, geraniums, violets. Lady Washingtons, pansies, 
sweet peas, nasturtiums, and other rare and delicate flower- 
ing plants, flourish and bloom the year round in the open 
air without any form of protection. The chrysanthemum 
begins blooming in October and continues to blossom 
through the winter months. 



GREATER OAKLAND. 



Berkeley, where the University of California stands, is 
but five miles away. Linked arm in arm with it are the 
towns of Lorin, West Berkeley, Golden Gate, and Emery- 



90 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



ville. Between Oakland and Berkeley lie Temescal and 
Piedmont. 

An observer standing on Piedmont Heights looking 
down will see the homes of more than 100,000 persons. 
These homes and these people are soon to constitute 
" Greater Oakland." 

Then what? — Unity of action. Along what lines? — 
Along the lines of commercial, social, educational and 
manufacturing industry. What a healthy hint to men of 
money ! The time to buy property in Alameda County 
is NOW. 




Artesian Well at AlvaraJo, Belonginn ti> the Oakland Waiter Cu 
Water Is Brought to Oakland. Bored in I809. 



from Whlcb 



WHAT IS WHAT. 



That is just what is puzzling us. When the Corral 
Hollow coal mines were touched by the iron horse, it 
looked as though coal was to be our leading industry. A 
ride through the county convinced us that a million bushels 
of wheat was surely the leading industry. 

We were convinced later on that the fruit industry couldn't 
be anything else but a ' 'leader. ' ' 

Then a trip to the Livermore and other valleys convinced 
us that the creamery industry was to soon outstrip e\-ery- 
thing else. 

Again we were convinced that vegetable raising was the 
greatest money-making industry in Alameda County. 

A visit to the many manufacturing enterprises-of the countv 
convinced us that nothing could hold a candle to these 



institutions that ga\'e employment to so many men, and 
placed so much money in circulation. 

Once more we were convinced that everything in Alameda 
County was going pell-mell to the front, and a million-mule 
team couldn't pull our people back from an assured pros- 
perity and happiness. 



HOT WEATHER. 



The value of the horses that drop dead from heat in 
eastern cities every year, would buy thousands of acres of 
land in Alameda County — a county in which the inhabitants 
would think the world was coming to an end if an animal of 
any kind or a human being should drop dead from heat. 



POLITICS OF THE COUNTY. 



Sometimes it goes overwhelmingly one way, and then it 
will back-track just enough to make everj-body stop guess- 
ing how it will go next time. But it keeps on going, and 
the crop of politicians is always ripe and more ripening, so 
that it is safe to say that no man knows the market value of 
the floating vote at any particular time. That makes it 
safe to bet on the ' ' other fellow. ' ' 



COUNTY OFFICIALS. 



Superior Judges: W. E. Greene, John Ellsworth, 
Frank B. Ogden, S. P. Hall. 

Board of Supervisors: J. R. Talcott, W. H. Church, 
Chas. Roeth, D. F. Wells, John Mitchell. 

Chas. E. Snook, District Attorney. 

Frank C. Jordan, County Clerk. 

Henry P. Dalton, Assessor. 

Calvin B. White, Sheriff. 

O. M. Sanford, Treasurer. 

Myron A. Whidden, Auditor. 

Chas. H. Spear, Recorder. 

J. B. Barber, Tax Collector. 

R. O. Baldwin, Coroner. 

J. P. Garlick, Superintendent of Schools. 

W. H. Knight, Public Administrator. 

Geo. L. Nusbaumer, Survevor. 



OAKLAND CITY OFFICIALS. 



Mayor, W. R. Thomas. 
Auditor, R. W. Snow. 
Treasurer, Z. T. Gilpin. 
City Attorney, W. A. Dow. 
Chief of Police, Chas. E. Lloyd. 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



91 



INVESTMENT. 
A Few Facts about the Garden Spot of California. 

BY J. WALTER LAYMANCE 




1/ the ideas here briefly expressed are suggestive and are observed 
by others as they have been by me, they will have subserved their 
purpose. 

Standing as we do on what is believed to be the financial edge 
of a business depression which has disturbed values and superin- 
duced stagnation in enterprises of all kinds for some time past, it 
is pleasant to speak of Oakland and its surroundings, because here 
one can observe evidences of prosperity and development that are 
so well founded that their 
continuity has never been 
interrupted even in the midst 
of the wave of financial dis- 
tress which has just passed 
over the state and country. 
It is safe to state that there 
is no section of the Pacifi: 
slope (and the geographical 
limit involved in the state- 
ment could, without impair- 
ing its accuracy probably, 
be expanded so as to include 
the entire United States) 
which has been so substan- 
tially improved, and so en- 
hanced in value, as has this 
section which embraces Oak- 
land, Alameda, Berkeley, 
Fruitvale, Brooklyn, San Le- 
andro, Piedmont,etc., during 
the past five or six years. 
Los Angeles, San Diego, San 
Jose and other places have 
had ephemeral booms , which 
partially subsided and 
brought disaster and loss to 
many of those who were in- 
volved in them; but there 
has been nothing of the 
boom nature in the improve- 
ment and development along 
the eastern shore which is 
the subject of this passing 
notice. The last -mentioned 
movement was and is a sub - 
stantial, conservative and 
logical expansion and devel- 
opment, which is founded 
upon rational business prin- 
ciples and operates of itself 
in obedience to the well- 
known laws of cause and 
effect. Its starting-point 
was probably the splendidly- 
•equipped and comprehensive 
system of street transporta- 
tion which was inaugurated 
several j-ears ago, and which 
now pro\'ides rapid, comfort- 
able and economic communi- 
cation with the places of 

residence, which were possessed of a high degree of attraction when 
the difficulties of access were removed. The building of these lines 
of communication gave employment to large numoers of men, and 
put considerable money in circulation; their operation keeps a large 
number of men in remunerative emplojTnent. 

Their existence caused the erection of residences in all direc- 
tions, and the building of residences, of course, involves the em- 
plo^'ment of builders; when completed their occupation gives 
employment to the butcher, the baker, the milkman, the grocer, 
the tailor and the shoemaker, who in turn require the blatksmith, 
the wagon maker, the harness dealer and the cutler, the lawyer, 
the dentist, and the clergyman. Thus by the logical process of social 
evolution ,the community which is founded upon favorable surround- 
ings expands itself. That has been the method of the wonderful 
development in these sections of Alameda County during the past 
few years. It has been a natural and healthy development, and 
one which, instead of showing signs of abatement, gives indica- 
iions of growth. Property values here are steadily appreciating 



Residence of Capt. Geo. C. Ainsworth. 



on all sides, new industries are springing up; climatic, topographi- 
cal, educational, commercial, social and other advantages are 
continually attracting new and desirable residents from all parts of 
the world; and it is to-day the nost progressive and prosperous 
section of California. And let those seeking investments orperma- 
nent homes in communities possessing all these attractions and 
natural advantages ask themselves, Where is there a place under 
the sun so beautiful, so fair, so much like a paradise, as Oakland 
and her surroundings under the beautiful skies, and bright, yet 
not oppressive, rays of the sun. The landscape becomes a veritable 
Paradise. 

Never were tlie city and suburbs so universally appreciated for 
their loveliness as they are to-day. This is because the enterprising 
real estate men have placed parcel after parcel of land vt;hich 
was formerly inaccessible, within the reach of every individual 
desiring a home, within the past few years. Twenty-five or tliirty 

lines of electric cars have 
annihilated the distance be- 
tween the bay and the fairest 
sections of tie county, and 
liberal dealers have placed 
these sections on the market, 
and they have been seized 
so rapidly within the past 
few years as to indicate that 
before ten years more will 
have passed over our heads 
the "Athens of the Pacific" 
will have doubled its already 
extensive area. The unex- 
ampled rapidity with which 
the city of Oakland and sur- 
roundings have been devel- 
oped, has been so wonderful 
as to excite the admiration 
and astonishment of those 
who, having been absent for 
a few short months, returned 
to find localities which were 
vacant when they left, filled 
with well-built homes. This 
is true in no one locality; 
every accessible section has 
received the attention of 
the public, and by subdivi- 
sion and the extension of 
city improvements has been 
made ready for dwellings 
and been eagerly purchased 
by the people. 

Another fact: Picture a 
mead of rich land, leveled 
by nature as though the ar- 
tifice of man had accom- 
plished the work; for a back- 
ground, see a range of green- 
clad hills, making a setting 
on which the e3'e loves to 
dwell, and then gaze out in 
the direction from whence 
comes the cooling breeze, 
and catch a glimpse of the 
heaving bosom of Mother 
Ocean. It is an ideal scene, 
one such as artists love to 
paint, and just such a place 
Another Ainsworth View. ^^ ^ ^^^^ y,o^x\d. seek for in- 

spiration. Is it not a fact 
that a person possessing a home in such a place is indeed to be 
envied ? .\nd how much more so when, in addition to the scenic 
and natural advantages described, it is known that the site is 
just as valuable from a commercial standpoint as it is from a 
natural one. To the observer is it apparent that an era of devel- 
opment has come upon Oakland and its ^^cinity such as has never 
been seen before in its history, a development that is visibly trans- 
forming and remaking the beautiful city, and placing it not second 
or third in the march of improvement,'but in the very lead of all. 
Oakland to-day is enjoving a growth and prosperity that re- 
minds me of nothing so much as the marvelous spread of Chicago, 
the "Wind-swept Young Giant of the Lakes," or of Denver, the 
"Queen City of the Plains," in their palmiest days. Look where 
one will, and new buildings are seen rearing their stately frames in 
the valleys and upon the hillsides. Wherever there is an undue 
depression, it is being filled in. The roadways and ayenuesare be- 
ing macadamized, new ones miles in length are being laid out; 
handsome grounds are being planted, where grow exotics and the 




92 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



hardy eastern trees and plants side by side, but the latter expanded 
toa size and beauty that is typical of Alameda County soil and 
climate; this is going on almost everywhere, yet it is' a fact, in 
certain sections the advancement is still more marked. In the 
vicinity of Twenty -third Avenue, for instance, during the past few 
years, homes and business blocks have risen with magic speed, so 
that now a man going to his business finds himself shut off from his 
short cuts. The same is true of the country at and back of Fruit- 
vale. 

There is a difference in the sections; in East Oakland proper and 
along the high ground that stretches from the shores of Lake Peralta 
(Merritt) to and including Highland Park, are gathered those who 
would seem to be the wealthier; they have made and are making a 
superbly charming region of that portion of the city. As a fact, 
the most remarkable growth of this section is the large territory 
]>-ing east of Fruitvale, to San Leandro, which in the past four or 
five years has been subdi\4ded and sold off into small holdings. 
To-day the entire territory is covered with beautiful homes, 
and within easy access to all parts of the city. School districts 
have been formed, magnificent public schoolhouses, places of 
worship and business blocks have been erected, so that to-day 
hundreds of families enjoy the luxuries of a home the same as if 
they had the metropolis of the state at their front door. 

In the city proper there is strong holding on the part of real 
estate owners, so that bargain hunters have circumstances against 
them. A feeling of confidence prevails among persons identified 
with property interests; people who are buying a home by monthly 
pajTnents care little for the movement of the market. They have 
selected a place for shelter, in which to bring up their children , and 
are content to have work enough to enable them to meet their 
instalments. Large and wealthy operators are apparently less 
concerned as to whether prices move up or down. It is" quite 
certain that none of their property will be sacrificed. They are 
satisfied that real estate will pay good interest on the cost price, 
though it may take a little longer time to realize than expected. 
Generally speaking, there is no better investment than land in or 
around our city of Oakland, if made with even a small amount of 
care and judgment. Time and opportunity are also to be con- 
sidered. 

Rich men, who constantly add to their landed possessions, take 
advantage of a dull and easy realty market to invest some of their 
idle capital. Land, as we all know, is the basis of all values. It 
is the foundation on which rests the financial fabric of communities 
and nations. Bankers and capitalists loan money on National 
Bonds simply because countries and working populations are at 
the back of them. The same application exists with regard to 
local securities, for which the credit of a community or district 
may be pledged. Realty is something that does not vanish; it 
may be handled with both profit and loss, by speculators it is true, 
but the substance itself still remains. Land investment in the 
United States has been the direct source of princely and even 
colossal fortunes for people who happily bought at the right time. 
Nerve to invest when property matters are rather neglected brings 
out both speculators and investors away a head on the profit side, 
sooner or later. 

The demand for land is an auxiliary of civilization, and it must 
be had to carry out human designs, in proportion as cities increase 
in population or the area of farming operations extend. Natural 
forces are also always working in favor of such conditions. In 
Alameda County there is abundant scope for the building up of 
orchards and vineyards; and an agricultural population, probably 
second in numtx;r to few counties in the state, can be comfortably 
housed on her hillsides and in her valleys. In Oakland the 
possibilities for building up a great city are greater than almost 
any growing city in the state. It is hardly possible for a buyer to 
go wrong in making an investment on a thoroughfare that is or can 
be brought into close contact with business centers by means of 
street-cars. 

That Oakland will be the second city in the state in wealth and 
population goes without contradiction, and as a fact is never 
questioned by any one that knows much of the splendid prosperity 
which Oakland is now enjoying, receiving impetus from far-seeing 
real estate men who realize Oakland's natural advantage, and know 
that if the opportunities are given, the people will eagerly flock 
to develop them. 



WHAT FOR? 

Seven thousand merchants of San Francisco own 
magnificent homes in the city of Oakland and near by. 
Why do they prefer raising their families here to raising 
them on the other side of the bay ? 

Because Oakland has better schools. 

Because the State University is on this side. 

Because the scenery is the prettiest in California. 

Because the cable and electric cars reach every section. 

Because the drives into the country are incomparable. 

Because the climate is the most perfect in the world. 

Because Oakland is the finest residence city in California. 

Because Oakland is constantly growing. 

Because it is fast becoming the greatest manufacturing 
city on the Pacific Coast. 

Because it is on the continental side of the bay. 

Because it is the literary center of the state. 

Because it is the greatest railroad termini west of the 
Rocky Mountains. 

Because it has the best harbor on the Pacific Coast, and 
will soon be the greatest shipping point between British 
America and Mexico. 

Because, if you wish to visit the Hawaiian Islands, Aus- 
tralia, Japan, China, India, or Eastern Europe, here is 
where you first touch the water that rides the waves of the 
great Pacific Ocean. 



Oakland has one of the finest race tracks in the world 
—full mile. Grand stand capacity, 5,000 seats. 

A Broadway, Oakland, merchant says: "The climate of 
Alameda County is so perfect that it never freezes butter in 
the winter, or melts it in the summer. ' ' 



Colonies. — No other county in California offers so many 
advantages to those who wish to join a " colony," as Ala- 
meda. Tracts of land of any size may be obtained here. 
The advantages of marketing products of the soil, tree and 
vine, are unsurpassed. The shipping facilities by train or 
boat are incomparable. There are numerous colonies in 
California, composed of persons from the same locality in 
the east, and the success of these colonies is based on the 
fact that the members knew each other before coming here. 
It is a good idea for twenty or more families from the same 
township or county to lump their expenses and all come 
together, buy together, and remain together after they 
reach here. A letter addressed to the secretary of either 
the Merchants' Exchange or Board of Trade of Oakland 
will secure all necessary information as to prospective colo- 
nies in- this county. 

Flax and Hemp. — A. D. Pryal, president of Alameda 
County Horticultural Society, says : ' ' While traveling in 
Europe I paid particular attention to the growing of flax, 
and nowhere did I find a single crop that was equal to the 
flax raised in Alameda County. Even the famed flax fields 
of Irelai;d are no exception to this fact. With our advan- 
tages in this respect I look for a great hemp industry in this 
county. In view of the fact that we annually import about 
$5,000,000 worth of foreign hemp, it is high time that we 
turn the tide in our own favor by meeting this demand by 
hemp industry." 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



93 



OAKLAND IRON WORKS. 

While the people of Alameda County may justly boast of salu- 
brious climate, the fertilit}- of the soil , the delicious fruits from 
their orchards, the wealth of flowers that bloom every day of the 
year in the gardens, their institutions of learning and multitude 
of churches, it is with no less pride that the}- point to some of the 
hives of industry that flourish here. What brains and enterprise 
can accomplish is nowhere better demonstrated than in the late 
history of the Oakland Iron Works. After a period of several 
3-ears of a struggling existence the business passed, on September 
I, 18S7, into the haads of the present management, who conducted 
it as a copartnership until August 26 of the following year, when 
thej' incorporated. Under the skilliul management of the incor- 
porators tlie institution has grown from insignificant proportions 
to one of mammoth magnitude. Misfortunes have visited them at 
times, but with invincible courage and enterprise that does not 
recognize obstacles, they met their discouragements and overcame 
them. 

Their business grew rapidly from the start, but in September, 1889, 
their buildings were destroj-ed by fire just when they were begin- 
ning to realize the possibilities of future success. Undaunted, they 
purchased more ground, rebuilt on a much larger scale, and greatly 
increased their capacity, but the continued growth of their business 
made it necessary in 1893 to purchase one quarter of the block on 
the southeast corner of Jefferson and Second Streets, opposite their 
works, on which they erected a large and well-equipped iron and 
brass foundry and pattern shop. 

On November I, 1894, they were visited by another disastrous 
fire, that destroyed their machine boiler and blacksmith shop. 
They immediately rebuilt, erecting much more substantial and 
modem buildings, with three large traveling cranes, enabling them 
to handle business with greater despatch and more satisfaction to 
themselves and their customers. It is gratifying to know that 
during 1895, notwithstanding the dull times to others, there have 
been no dull times with them. The}' employed more men and paid 
more wages than in any previous year, having had as high as 139 
on the pay-roll, paying from ji5,ooo to jf8,ooo per month in wages. 
The output of the finished products of the works is from $200,000 
to $250,000 per year. 

They manufacture stationary and marine engines and boilers, ice 
and refrigerating machinery. Architectural iron work of every 
description, sheet and wrought iron work; brass and iron castings, 
and in fact everything that comes within the scope of a first-class 
and well-equipped institution of this character. 

From British Columbia to Panama and as far east as Omaha, the 
products of their establishment may be seen, and an important and 
growing trade exists in Mexico and Central America. 

When the fact is considered that the present flourishing and 
largely patronized institution has been developed within a period 
of less than ten years from a concern of scarcely greater pretentions 
than a country blacksmith shop, itshows what well-directed energy 
and enterprise will accomplish. To the credit of the proprietors 
it may be said that during their success they have never forgotten 
loyalty to the county in which they live, gi\'ingit the preterence in 
everj-thing, and are always at the lielmin the promotion of Alameda 
County enterprises. 



ELMHURST. 



Between five and six miles from the City Hall, is a beautiful 
school building that cost about $25,000 complete. 

Around this schoolhouse are some of the coziest cottages in the 
county. A high-grade class of citizens have located there for the 
purpose of schooling their children. Several hundred persons 
have gone there recently and built their homes without making 
the least bit of noise about it. They found lots selling as low as 
$150, and that alone was a great inducement for many of them to 
stop paying rent in the city. They call their town "Elmhurst." 
The town is prettier than its name. Wide, level streets, cement 
sidewalks, beautiful shade-trees, perfect drainage, splendid water 
from both the great water companies, electric and steam car-lines, 
telegraph and telephone lines, post-ofiice, express oflSce, public 
library, public hall, churches, stores, hotels, etc., are the attractive 
featuresof the town. The soil is very rich and every home can 
have a garden of its own. There are many kinds of flowers raised 
there for the San Francisco market. A number of "the residents 
have paid for their homes in eggs and chickens — the product of 
home industry." 

While "Elmhurst" is out of the city geographically, it is certainly 
"in it" socially, religiously, progressively and educationally. We 
do not know of a more desirable residence location in this county 
than this thrifty young \'illage. . 



OAKLAND PRESERVING CO, 

There is no industrial institution in Alameda County to which 
the people are more indebted, or from which greater and more varied 
benefits accrue to them both directly and indirectly, than the Oak- 
land Preserving Co. , situated on First Street, between Filbert and 
Linden Streets, Oakland. 

In 1 89 1 the company was organized and incorporated, with F. 
Tillman, Jr. , as president, A. C. Baumgartner secretary, and J. W. 
Nelson manager, in which capacities the officers continued until 
1895, when a single change was made, and Mr. E. H. Nielsen, 
assumed the management. 

The spirit of enterprise has characterized the institution from 
its origin, and even in the dullest season of the year there can be 
heard the clamor of hammers, as the workmen in the packing 
department nail the cases preparatory to shipment, and cars 
packed to the limit of their capacity stand upon the tracks ready 
to be transported todistant pointsin all directions. They can fruits 
and vegetables of all kinds, jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves. 

They pack largely in glass as well as tin, and every department 
is under the supervision of a skilled operator. 

Nowhere on the Pacific Coast is there a cannery where more 
care is exercised in the selection of stock or the manipulation of 
it than at the Oakland Preserving Co.'s establishment, and they 




A Country Residence— H. W. Meek, Haywards. 

have been one of the important factors in establishing the present 
high standard of our canned fruit abroad. 

The vigilance they have exercised has resulted in establishing 
for themselves a most enviable reputation abroad, until to-day 
there is perhaps no jobbing house in the United States that does 
not handle their goods, and through the commercial gates of 
Liverpool and London they go in vast quantities to England and 
continental Europe. 

Next to Liverpool and London in foreign demand, ranks Aus- 
tralia, who pays her compliments by large and regular orders. 

Central and South America also call for a liberal supply, and in 
fact there is no civilized country in the world where their 
products do not go. 

Their leading brands are: Oakland Extras, Del Monte Extras, 
Oakland Select Standards, and Swan Brand Select Standards. 
They packed in 1895 over 142,000 cases, of two dozen cans per case. 
They employ as high as 700 people in their cannery in the packing 
season, and their weekly pay-roll amounts to $5,500. 

The growth of their business has been constant from the start. 
They have increased their output from 80,000 cases, to the present 
large proportions in a remarkably short time, and have now in 
contemplation a farther increase in their capacity to 175,000 cases, 
in order to keep pace with the growing demand for their goods. 

Few people in Oakland have a proper conception of the magni- 
tude or importance of their business. If the yearly output were 
loaded in cars, with 300 cases to the car (which, by the way, is a 
large car), it would take 486 cars to hold it. Then if these cars 
were coupled into trains of 30 cars each, it would make 16 trains, 
and leave 6 cars to supply our home consumption. 

Again, if the product were loaded into wagons, with a ton in 
each wagon, it would take 4,866 wagons to hold it. If these wagons 



94 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



were arranged in a single train, allowing 30 feet for each wagon 
and team, it would make a train 30 miles long. 

If the cases themselves were arranged in a row, it would make a 
row over 43 miles long. 

If the cans were placed in line they would extend over 119 miles. 

If the material that is used in the cases were made into a single 
board one foot wide, it would be over 242 miles long. 

It would take 97 >^ days, or nearly 4 months of 26 days to the 
month, for a man to count the cans of a yearly output, counting at 
the rate of one per second, and working 10 liours a day. Such is 
the magnitude to which one of our infant industries has grown in 
less than five years' time, and the future bids fair for a more rapid 
growth than it has had in the past. 



■W. V. WITCHER. 

In the early part of this year W. V. Witcher, member of the 
Pierce Hardware Company, succeeded Mr. Fish in the presidency, 
and George W. Arper, oil importer, was elected vice president. 
Under the new administration the good work goes on. Not only 
are the first principles of the Exchange carried out in spirit and in 
fact, but many new lines of work have been laid out and are being 
pushed to the front. The Exchange has become a veritable 
bureau of information for the homeseeker and investor, and to 
that end even,' effort will be strained to make public the resources 
of .\lameda County and the social, educational and industrial ad- 
vantages of Oakland as a residence and commercial city. 

The Exchange is composed of a membership of two hundred, in- 
cluding a board of twenty-two directors. Weekly meetings are 



Fig trees produce two crops a year. A fig 
tree never needs any care. Bugs and other 
pests leave it alone. 

It costs about $2.00 per gallon to manufac- 
ture olive oil, which sells all the way from $3.50 
to 58.00 per gallon. 

Asparagus is cut from April to July. Prices 
range from 75 cents to $7.00 per box, according 
to season. The average crop is from 80 to 100 
boxes per acre. Profits vary from $100 to $300 
per acre. 

ToB.\cco. — There is scarcely an acre of land in 
this county on which tobacco can not be grown. 
It is one of the most promising and profitable of 
all our industries. There is no tobacco grown 
in Cuba but what can be raised in Alameda 
County. 

The cost of planting an acre of apricot trees 
(108 trees to the acre) is about $i8. Some per- 
sons will contract to care for them until they be- 
gin to bear, for $10 per acre per year. Currant 
bushes planted between the rows will afford money 
to pay all e.xpenses. 

Blue Gum. — This tree is better known by the name of 
"eucalyptus," and will grow on most any kind of soil. 
Many farmers plant these trees, and within five years have 
plenty of wood. The leaves have great medicinal value, and 
tea made from them is said to be a sure cure for pulmonary 
troubles. It is also claimed that tea made from the bark 
will cure consumption. Lumber from these trees can be 
converted into furniture of any kind and polished to a high 
degree. Shingles made of eucalyptus are very durable. 




A Double-Deck Car. 

held, public questions are discussed, and able men from the out- 
side are invited to address it from time to time on questions of 
public interest. 

The influence of the Merchants' Exchange of Oakland has been 
felt in every branch of trade, and the good work that it has ac- 
complished has extended far beyond the boundaries of this state. 
The portraits of the board of directors appear on the opposite 
page. 



MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE. 

Oakland is blessed with a body of ripe business men known as 
the Merchants' Exchange. It is not an old organization, but what 
it lacks in years it makes up in \'im, snap, push, zeal and enter- 
prise. 

Its first president was George L. Fish, member of the firm of 
Phelan & Fish, wholesale grocers and importers. Under the 
leadership of Mr. Fish, the Exchange at once became a factor for 
good in all lines of public profession. Business men were united 
for the common good of all. Ordinances of the "dead letter" 
kind were revived and enforced through their efforts; new ordi- 
nances were framed and passed upon their order against fraud and 
corruption; public improvements were advocated; music was heard 
in tlie parks and manv other live and wideawake propositions 
were placed on foot. 



WORTH SEEING. 

Every visitor to Oakland should take a trip over the Highland 
Park and Fruitvale Electric Railway. 

The ride is one of the most picturesque in the county. The 
double-deck cars afford the passengers the best view possible. Up 
hill and down, through the caiions and around the curves, the cars 
glide with wonderful smoothness. Diversified foliage is to be seen 
on either side. After leaving Twelfth Ave., in East Oakland, the 
car shoots down the hill and into the caiion, then around the curve 
past Beulah Park, up the hill in front of and then around the 
German Hospital, now down into another caiion and around 
another curve, and the car stops at Dimond Post-ofiice, upper 
Fruitvale and the "Hermitage." Here passengers may continue 
southward on the beautiful avenue to Fruitvale, or stop off and 
view the grand scenery at and about the "Hermitage." Up the 
hill a short distance is the home of Joaquin Miller, the "Poet of the 
Sierras." Scores of pilgrims can be seen daily winding their way 
to this beauty spot. 





-'•rSm 


■c 




^ 


'' 




Directors of the Merchants' Exchange of Oakland, Cal. 



(95) 



96 



ALAMEDA COUNTY. 



OAKLAND BOARD OF TRADE. 



Brief Review of Its Past Acliievements, Its Present and 
Future Purposes. 



BY M. T- KELLER. 



The Oakland Board of Trade, organized in 1886, con- 
tinues in active operation, having between five hundred and 
six hundred members at the present time. Among these 
are many of the most progressive and public-spirited citi- 
zens of Alameda County. 



The articles of incorporation under which the Board has 
worked and is now operating, declare : — 

' ' That the purposes for which the Board is formed are to 
foster, encourage, and develop the mercantile, manufactur- 
ing, and home interests of Oakland and suburbs; to collect, 
preserve, and circulate useful information concerning the 
city ; to encourage wise and helpful legislation, and oppose 
the enactment of all laws which might injuriously affect our 
manufacturing or commercial interests ; to forward the 
improvement of our harbor, water front, streets, avenues, 
and public parks; to widen and extend our railroad and 




Directors Board of Trade. 



The present Board of Directors include James P. Taylor, 
President; H. O. Trowbridge, Vice-President; George B. 
M. Gray, Treasurer; Craigie Sharpe, Secretary; E. B. 
Norton, A. H. Breed, H.^C. Taft, M. J. Keller, A. D. 
Pryal, J. W. Nelson, J. Tyrrel, and Albert Kayser. 

In coiiperation with the Merchants' Exchange and Board 
of Supervisors, the Board of Trade has participated in the 
publication of this work. 

The scope of the Board of Trade's work embraces all 
that may conduce to the welfare, prosperity, and progress 
of Alameda County, of which Oakland is the chief city. 



transportation facilities; to aid and encourage the erection 
of needed public buildings, the establishment of new manu- 
factories, and the advancement of local improvements, and 
generally to strive with united effort to increase the w'ealth, 
industries, influence, trade, and population of the city of 
Oakland and its vicinity." 

Along these lines the Board of Trade has been and is 
working. At all times the Board has been alive to the 
necessity of a more perfectly developed harbor for Oak- 
land. 

The natural harbor of Oakland affords unexcelled anchor- 



FACTS AND FIGURES. 



97 



age for ships. Landlocked, the harbor serves to sheher 
from threatening gales at all seasons of the year. To deepen 
the channel at the harbor entrance so that ships of the larg- 
est kind might enter was a necessity. Through the efforts 
of the Board of Trade the General Government has now 
provided appropriations to immediately complete the har- 
bor as proposed by the United States Engineers. 

The development of systems of electric street railways 
has been specially advocated, with the result that Oakland 
and her suburbs are now abundantly supplied with these 
facilities of traffic. Naturally the territory in and about this 
city is admirably adapted for electric railway operations, 
being uniformly level, or gently sloping. The numerous 
street railways now in operation, penetrate in all directions 
from the heart of the city and bring in close touch all parts 
of the county. 

The improvements of streets and roads has at all times 
been commended, and at the present time this theory has 
taken hold of the public mind so that the betterment of our 
most important thoroughfares has been begun in earnest by 
the citizens of Oakland. 

The Board of Trade keeps a watchful eye upon National 
or State legislation affecting Alameda County interests, as 
well as upon the local official bodies, and seeks to encour- 
age that which seems beneficial, and discourage that which 
appears likely to prove injurious. In this connection it 
may be noted that the Board of Trade secured from the 
National Government the designation of Oakland as a port 
of entry, thereby enabling shippers to land importations 
from abroad direct at our wharves or railway depots. 

The encouraging of mercantile interests and the fostering 
of home products, are especially advocated. 

An exposition of Alameda County products, originated 
by the management of the Board, developed the fact that 
our manufactures and soil products, our artists' and 
mechanics' handiwork, were several times in excess of all 
preconceived ideas. 

The Board has now in hand, in cooperation with the 
Merchants' Exchange, the preparation of an exhibit of home 
products to be maintained permanently ; and in this same 
line of work, the Board will continue to cooperate with and 



support the promoters of the Annual Exposition of Home 
Products in Alameda County. 

Another important matter which the Board of Trade has 
in hand is the locating of a public park. This movement 
has been ad\-ocated and fostered by the Board of Trade 
until the project has reached a stage which will lead to the 
immediate location and purchase of a magnificent piece of 
land of five hundred to one thousand acres. 

Commissioners have been selected to secure such a tract 
of land for park purposes. This has been a theme long 
under discussion by the people of Oakland. It is designed 
to provide the people of Alameda County a public park 
which may prove a source of pride and pleasure ; where all 
may find recreation and freedom from the cares of toil or 
business. 

Near by the city of Oakland are numerous natural parks 
which require but comparatively slight expense to convert 
into resorts of rare sylvan beauty. The gently rising foot- 
hills immediately north and east of the city are intersected 
with ravines through which trickle the waters of pellucid 
brooks; native bushes and wild ferns clothe these partly- 
wooded dells in almost perpetual greenery; native song- 
birds flit from bough to bough; tropical and semi-tropical 
plants and shrubs grow here in the open air without fear of 
frost. Such a site the Board of Trade hopes to soon see 
presented for the people' s use as a park. 

The officers, directors, and members of the Board of 
Trade regard the past experiences of the organization as a 
groundwork for future usefulness. They believe the Board 
has only commenced its work. It is an active body of men, 
earnest in their desire to help develop this -city and county. 
It is prepared and organized to furnish any information 
respecting the material resources of Oakland and Alameda 
County. 

Eleven years of experience has given the Board a vantage- 
ground in this regard which is of inestimable value. 

So equipped, the Board of Trade turns its eyes to the 
future, willing to aid at all times in the upbuilding of the 
city of Oakland and county of Alameda. 

Copies of this issue of "Facts and Figures " will be furnished to those who 
address the Board's Secretary, Mr. Craigie Sharp, Exposition Building. C)akland, 
Gal. 







1^ 




^ S^ 


1 




1 1 1 




^8 


1 1 1 

O O 0) »o 



iA> o o 12 

'^. j-j an ^^ 



O O O lO 
lO -q- iC -O 



lO lO uo O O 

m '^ fc f^x 



O t-^ lO lO o »o o 
»-" O T in rr>X •-" 






I (N <- W M 



Ill I I I , IS 



Js I U 



I I 

O "-' o 



I I I I 

rO in lO fC O lO 



MM 

O O T o 
O -^ 0^ a^ 



O O O O Q O O 

o o o o o o o 

O Q O O O O 

OO ONO o o 

- '^ ° '^ °- 'i ^. 

^ c^ i/^ x" ^j (n" o~ w rC 

M c^^D w nC r~- e*^ ^ 







O O- O -T o 
O X O T o 
O .C Cs O 



O I^ o o 

O X ^ o 

O 0^0 O 



OOOOvOONQOOO 

ooooo-oooo 

O ""> O r^j uo r^j O >o t^ o 



t^O a^X NX '^vX iOTrOrO<S\0 o 



O O O 1^ o 

o o o o >- 

to o O O f^. 

in O O fN c 

r^- O to O X 

I ^ hT lo hT o" 

) HI M lO ■^ ^ 



•S3; 



=0 X 
— rO 



n o 



o o 

o o 

O X 



O O u^ >0 ^v\D M O i/'-X •- T^ 1-^ lO CN 
ii-;00 ^O^ ■^C^X I^IOTO lOM 

•-T i/S o" l~^ r~- O u6 rC p^, o~ ^" X rT to rC 

»-^ r^ O X X C^ (N lo re ri X t^O 0^ 1/^ 

c5^ cf cT 1^ fi rT m' ^ 



o o 

o o 



O t^ o 

O X o 
o a^o 



r-* o o^ (N ri X f^ X 
p^ M IN r^ >-« i/^ lO 
m CN lo M i-« 



o 


o o o o 


n n 


n 


88 


O 


o 


o O o 


o o 


o 


o 


n 


o o o o 


O 


(-) 


RS 


n 


J^ 


o o o o 








O lo r^ o 






in O 


ID 


















r^ T 




u-,X 


ON 




lo •- t^ "- 


\r, '^ 


-« 


iO <N 





^- 









O 
tNrc 



m>.o r^O <^-fOi^mo O O "tx r^-O »nox 10*^,0 "n-^o O l^- 

01 rCX "N ''J -^O^ O *-* C^mm^-^LC^OsO l^fN O OX iCCnQ O I 



■^t~-.|--.n tN (N rOOO nXX 100 a^>-'0 G>'-" '-' rOO •- O C^ O 
(N (^ M -rr fC T T f^'O r^ M rs CT'O rC "TX O f-O tO;;''N '-X 
M n pi" (n' cT rT i-T cT -^ "-T re <n" ^ w' en '-'' pi f^- pT 



r-^C »0-^-TC>OX 00 O »C 

^.X'^xx c^i-^P) C'O r^Tf^ 

C^ O m f^, ^ ^C TO '-'" *^ tC rf ■c" 

o i-i ICO t-'.o r^x '^) r-^ in »-< "n 



0\0 i^o mc^'n^-o '-' 00 <n -ti-^ 
O r-.o p^o ino ti—o mrv.fN r^fn 
PI o o uoioox mpjo fnO^'^P* u-j 

. r^ O" (> f^ Cr^ •-<" -T C> r^ "T pr o' f^" X" ro 

00 mf^x Tri-^i--»o ONTrnr--Pi i-i 

n o 100 OXX C^fOO OO'^-O ir; 

*:?■ -T in ri -T ■-! r^, X O" O ■- o" O" rr- 

M >- ll n --I l-H M 



■g|g- 



0^— 
re 

-N O : 
ri Ifi , 



-8 8 



lOI^'^r^.XOONNPJI^PJPtri 

•-< lox 00 ro I-- o o^ 00 r-* •-• X r^ 
>-« o^n »- ini^inx -^ o^x o^o « o\ 

iC iC p" rC (5 p^^ •-<' c^ ^x" rr. -r c^ m in c 

roo inox r^t- mx inpi o^ninrc- 



X ON 

mo 
in T 



T -T 

a*. fN 
o rn 

. O 'N 

mx : 



T o 
PJ 1^ 

O X 



o o cz; 
- mo rr 

N q^i^ o 

" cf-o x' 

1^0 P) 
O TT -. 



f^.X 
o <^. 
PI 10 

T cm: 
o m - 



•rrX 



TX o 
r-* pj CC 

PJ •-. fN 

c? in o" 
; <r; T i^ 
. f*-, ro c> 



in o M o 

X ONT f- 

m o^ en c^ 

-TX rn rn 

fn o m PI 
1^ X f^j m 



o = i 



On * 

in 5 



O CJN Pt f>i -o <, T^ rr ''l in f 



in fn 1-^ r-- in 



■^ «'S^ O N 

^ o w i; 3 
> 55W 



€A^ 



■^ o >n in o 

<n c^ o X in 

-tt'jS ^J f^ ^ 

o inx I-- cn 
X PI t^ 



r-^ >— in 

PI O "^ 
X I-* I-' 

in c> t-^ 
-T ino 

PI o *n 



X w X 
M in ri 



in-o 

x" - 



o in 

o c^. 



mo 

O -T 



t-.TONC^r-^x mfnr^^-T'-' m^ncnt^'^'^o on— ^ —•o "Tr-^m 
>-« o Pio P) c^t^o p< i-^>-i mmo r^-TTPi \n ^ -TmONmo •- -^ 

en mo mi-ix mi-" o >-' »-' mr^'- "-^x i^c^o "-o '^.00 t^o c^ 

"-T pf o" pT m rC c^ X X m m ^ "^ '-'' t-^ '"^ x' <>•-'' m -r t m o" c> m tC 

i^o ccMOxmr^Mvo w 00 P( ^ci<:j pi "-i cn f^. t mcc m 'n 1- t 

en t^o ocT^ ■^•HMPirrpi t-^x pimpim-T tom^on enx 



mo '- 

mo X 
o_ --^ M 

O" CN PI 

1-. O n- 
m o re 



n k. X — 

00. ai 



_ o o ^ 

tN "- t^ ". 

* m m o 

00 o c>x 
^ n cno 

O* m fO 



in o C\ m o o^o ON rn rn m r^ -^i/i pi»-'mp4CC'^Mpio 
XO PI o pjTfN tr^ 0\'>-^ Q\ mo IT, mpi M t-i mo^o^enlnp^ 

- ' '" r^^ "rt- iHN (-^i (M «rt- rrs i/~.\i^ " r/^ r^ "" — - 



•^ t^ M X t-- T ON m P4 T o^^ ino I; X t-- "I mx 1 



^ G^ m 



X o o T mi I---0 PI PI i-t o^mT "O m^i-^CNm t^x o o t-^ 

■rr HH -^ i^ m o PI -^ i^x o '-' or^t^"-* inr^inpir-^'-' O o 

ONX o x^ i-^ T t-* o "T t->. -f fn fN^f^ XO o m-^o ir^o -^o^ 
■^ (-T Tj- M*" m o" d^o •-< •^o'eocV"* in"~"~" 



m om-^ 

O ONX 

m o -T 

O" '-'" -T ^ 
!-•»-. r^ ( 
n O I-" ' 



ON T 
O X 
X m 



in o 

o o 

O X 



X w 



m. in I-- PI I-- 



N 



PI w p< CI 



o w m O r^ « 






m X m -T * 

r f^jO X O' X C- O I 

p o o f^ ON m t-i m ( 

^ pT PI m PI T -^oo^ M m hT t^"o o^ m^ 
ipipimi-t-fMinM »-(ci*-i 



ONt-- P< Pf o >- 
; •-' CNw X rnx ■ 

i-> 'O mx ^ m < 
■ rj" m m rC m m • 
- (N r~. o m t^ -T ; 

ttO O X I-" *t • 



OnX \ri \r. xTi xTi \ri 

•N r>i OnX m t-^ m 

m — m m ON >-i i^ 

" in ■-' T X -T —'" 
T *T m o^ -T X 
m i^ r^ 'N m< •-. 

- -T re t^ o' m 



m >. 



2 8 

o 



^ 



X mo ONino inx "^o meni-^i-i ono ^tO O oncn"-" mmmo mo m-^o mmo "^ o i^mmo o pi mo \^\r^\r'j 
ciox r^-^mmoo mx tpio pI(« mx o o pi t'- f-^t-^pi mm's i^o moN^nenox ino n ino t^a^o 00 
•-< i>. r^ o PI fn i-^o x^CNmn^i-i "-"Oj^ mmo '^'-' TCNm t^x ^o i-^ o^o pi m o t-^ on o i^ t^ p) ^n pi x ox o n 
PI m mo f^i^ f*"i M^j >-* r~-o pi t-. r-* pi m •• pi t^ m n m o^ (^ >-' i^x" (^ m m CT' m m i-T -^x" pT m m -t (^ ■-*' *-' pf "n* m r^ hT 
>-tinm*nx>-'OOt^o ONPiPiptO^pit^ pi-rO'-'OCNm'^t'N mt^oo^'-'r^rei-oenmxT com in 
WM pipi j^ M M"^i->M [^„i_,^^Hmi-"m ^ *^ t^. *^ 



ON m ONC 
fM m ON c 

ttX O •- 



ino o o 
■m ONt^ M 

ON PI t-^ i-^ 






O ■^t^mo ONPi Ot^P) 00 o 



fO "^ O o m m 
^ ^ r-. ^ n o 

• -1- PI t^ in •- 
■— m i^o mo 
.^ -^ mo o 

00 



ONinm-^m-'O no; ■-■ (-.1/5 vo x m >-■ n mo •- mmiinmTO mmpioccx >- rt « 
■^inpiccoco o o o t^"-"-- ■^mpt -^i- -^x o ^o m onx "-< mpi miCM-^-^pi ono o m 



rx' 



ON o <n >- 
_ _ t-- o X in 

i-^ Onx -^ <- gno pi c^Plt^mPl p< "^ -^x t^x ONt^inr^pio om^ 



a\ r-* pj in ono ■-■ m t-- -^ >-' -x mONpio w o r^o o^-1■mmoo in '^x ov -^ o o ^e p^ o -^oc 
o o m '- CO >- mx PI m mro o pio i-gc moNi- 00 x f-*o 00 m m "h co mx i-* i^ m mi !-« on 
o PI o mo o^ <no o m mi/j i^ o pi o -• »>■ --■ mo o pix m<7Nm i^-^j-c* ■^<7^ m^so m i^ -■ x t-i 

pT pi" i-T h-T in -T ^-T «' ^H ^ m" p-T ■^ I-T pTo" m <-r --T J" -^ -T 



O en m 
m o PI 
mi m m 

m do" 

OM- m 

- o r-^ 



On "-« PI 
W GO t^ 

M O -1- 

o*" o'o 
<-• in in 



rr^. Q\ \n t*^ XTi \n 

■T "- o m.o m 

t-- O^ l-^X ONO 

o"o di rC o-\D 
m 1-- mc/: o o 
PI fn men <- en 



JJ^> Z 






IN C7\ O O 

© 

^- PI mx 
Oi c^ in m 
O "^^ '^'"■' 
IN h-" ri" 



O ONmmm-^mox m-ri-r^ 
u (J -' mx •^•-' in^ mt-^t-^ONONPi 
00 o PI mpi t^m ONO o *^ t^ on m 

~ m mo o o r^o i-" m m pT -^ 
>-* o -^ Oi m t^ mo •-->-. lo r--. 
PI — o PI o eor--o ^o t^ t-- 



MO 

mLj 

-^ 

-f - 
PI — 






in ON m,x o mpio o O OO h p<r>.ini-- — XO -^ o Oni 
i~^ PI en -^ f-* o o f^o ON o pj m t-^ i- i^ m. m on o r-^ pi c 
mo CO !->. m '-' eo O^ "^ O x^ -t- in mo -i-x ^ pi on m m o ■ 
T o"x in I-T i-T tC -^ tC in iC m" pT o" t^ m pT '^x" m ^ >- pT i 
m-fo PI <N o mmo onpi o ONt^o mONt-^oxx m m'j 
ino -^ono mci o^o^o o^o^•:^I->.ONONmo pi "^o Tf pi t 



; t^ O 

) mo 

■ o o 



mo 
ma3 

f--X 

- a^ m 
fe in 

i m o 



\£) m " ' 
PI -::r t^ • 

r^ r^x' 

« mo 
mo X 



PI m o 

r-X •- 

i ON -^ m 



PI 



■^ ON P< O ' 

O in — X - 
mmo ON c 



ta 



'I- a* 

o a 

n — 

J c 

I O = 



ONONONt-^o men -■ r^o -^ -^ pi ot m>cc 



Pi 



00 t-s "^ pj 
0.0 

fO 

QO"' 

30 

IN 



O t^ O m in m -^ PI -rr mo en o o 
mo cjijD X X "[it" m pi^ '"^^ 1^*0 5v 



PO 



ON t-^ 

m I-* 



inm>-' PI Onpi pir-^ mo pi pi 
Tj-M mO i^"-- pi OnOX OnX O (^ 

o m m fn ON m PI i^ i^ re on —^ pi qq 
N m On ON "-T "-T dix' o I-- -t PI M 0\ 



, in •-■ ►■ 

. i^ — 
m, i-^ 



m PI 

o - 
PI m 



■O O ex I', :/:; r^mrroo 00 i^pi o O c* \r, o\f^.^ o i--pi t— picoo 
moN-^t— PI PI inT mx mx mo m -rr m mo Tmo u'co o mr-^ox 
PI r^x m■^t--.o^o ot-^\n a\co on i^ o^o x x onx mci o_r^mmoNrn 
o" t^ ff -rf "^ d> 00' m m m o\ PI dvo" o ■<:finprmx'x"mr^mc^mpi"cn 
"-I m Onx^ i-'O ■-' ot^CNPi cs ONPicn pi mn ^eo \n ^:^ o^ ^ 'j:i -^ r^p- m 
mo m^^ X 1^ f/ 1-* ON m o c^ •-• p* f^.f*%^n'^ mo X on n ■^y: on m t^ pi 



PI O PI o *^ ■ 



m -rj- m o I 
O eo inco 
mx on O 

dvcn'o" ■4- 
ON PI o r--i 
-■ m -1- o^ I 
pT in p7 p» 



i^N MOX t^omw m ONec -^pio ■^m'- OO »-• Ono i-* t-" ^"*on ^x mt--m'^-*0'-' w pi r^o 

"^ ■^PI-^'-<m'^lO»->i-iMWC4'<:3-pl rfi-. wrO« ^-^p^•^P*^-l m-^m-^'-'^repifO 



I '^ ^-2-2 

— S3 cro 

: .oi-i! 

: Tj °S 

: iti 

• .= tj (5 

B r^ >. I 



•(SSBp) 
UOll 



«a moox mm'- i-^x r-^w o mmo »- 
\n r^<F^ mpi PI y^K^ mM mm'^*^"^ 



■a 



*3E 



O a; o 

OJ > VI t- /C ^ 

- - O O 1) — 



4) 

"3 

e 



2 = 



.Ji ^ -^^il.- r'^ a a •x. vt a XI 'J 






c c 

o o 






• - •■ S 

:*■ o -2 

= 00 ^U O 



2v 
S5S X 




V 



<<<pquuuQWt;bi;£'i;u:jjjSSSSS§SSZZ05:E5tn 



t/3tn 



cc rt rt :w rt 

t/) [/) c/) in c/5 1 



o o . 



d'C = 3 u O = 



FACTS AXD FIGURES. 



99 




^ -o 






a H 
<J o 



« O 










Map of the City of Oakland, Alameda County, California. 




